Background: It is impossible to determine the presence of whether toxins were present in severely decomposed corpses devoid of intoxicated tissues and bodily fluids which normally taken for toxicological analyses. Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the use of cadaver insects as reliable alternate toxicological specimens to determine cause of death from toxic substances levels in severely decomposed bodies. Material and methods: Twelve healthy adult albino rats of both sexes were used and the oral LD50 of clonazepam (4 g/kg) was gavaged for each rat. Blood was drawn from each rat before and after death. Seven liver specimens were taken after death from each rat at the end of the first, second; third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh hours. The dead rats were left for seven days to be decomposed at room temperature. At the end of the seventh day, insect larvae sampling were collected by a soft-touch forceps from each decomposed rat and copiously washed with distilled water and dried using a paper towel to avoid contamination. All specimens were preserved with sodium fluoride and stored frozen till toxicological analysis where liver and larvae samples were grinded to powder for 30 seconds at 6500 rpm in a tissue homogenizer. Each 1 ml blood or 1gm of homogenized liver or larvae was analyzed for detection and quantification of clonazepam. The measurement was done photo-metrically at 660/570 nm. Results: the average of clonazepam blood concentration before death was 5.89µg/ml and after death was 5.97µg/ml, which was nearly the same. The average concentration of liver clonazepam showed progressive increase from 9.15µg/ml at the first hour after death to a maximum of 13.1µg/ml at the seventh hour. The average concentration of larvae clonazepam was 16.8µg/ml, which was more than that of blood and liver indicating absorption of clonazepam and distribution into the larvae during feeding on body fluids and tissues. Conclusion: Thus, when toxicological tissue samples are no longer available in the severely decomposed corps, insects are useful as alternative toxicological samples to detect and quantify toxins as a cause of death. |
