Adaptation of Ti(III)-NTA colorimetric assay for use in detecting microbial demethylation of lignin and lignin derived compounds in aerobic conditions

•We adapted an assay for aerobic use to study lignin and lignin derived compounds.•Lignin did not interfere with the detection of vicinal diols in phenyl methyl ethers.•The assay was shown effective in determining vicinal diol content of lignin.•We propose an assay to screen for lignin demethylation with microbial cultures.

An anaerobic colorimetric assay for quantifying microbial demethylation activity was adapted for aerobic use in studying lignin and lignin-derived compounds. Standard curves of 0–500 μM pyrocatechol with and without 0.3% lignin demonstrated the use in either case. This method detects demethylation products up to 500 μM without using additional dilutions.