Comparison between Blood, Non-Blood Fluids and Tissue Specimens for the Analysis of Cannabinoid Metabolites in Cannabis-Related Post-Mortem Cases

IF 1.4 4区 医学 Q3 MEDICINE, LEGAL Forensic Sciences Research Pub Date : 2023-05-24 DOI:10.3390/forensicsci3020025
T. Zughaibi, Latifa Al-Qumsani, A. Mirza, Amal A. Almostady, Jude Basrawi, S. Tabrez, Faiz Alsolami, Rami Al-Makki, Sami Al-Ghamdi, Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, Abdulnasser E. Alzahrani, Majda Altowairqi, Hassan Alharbi, M. Peace, M. Halwani, A. Al-Asmari
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引用次数: 2

Abstract

Cannabis use is widespread and is one of the most common drugs encountered in forensic-related analysis (antemortem and postmortem cases). However, the correlation between illicit cannabis use and death is rarely investigated, even while taking into consideration its role in the central nervous system depression and cardiovascular disorders. Few studies have discussed other non-blood specimens; this has brought a special interest in analyzing THC and its metabolites in different body parts in order to make precise forensic decisions. Herein, we are investigating the presence of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its metabolites:(11-hydroxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-OH) and 11-nor-Δ9- tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxy (THC-COOH)) in different postmortem specimens. Forty-three cases of bodily fluids and tissue post-mortem samples, previously found to be cannabinoid-positive were analyzed in the current investigation using alkaline hydrolysis followed by solid phase extraction and LC-MS/MS for THC and its metabolites concentration. In the current study, the highest median THC-COOH and THC-OH concentrations were detected in bile samples (1380 ng/mL and 8 ng/mL, respectively), while the highest THC median concentration was detected in gastric contents (48 ng/mL). This can be explained due to the postmortem distribution of blood to other bodily fluids and tissues and the accumulation in bile following multiple doses. Furthermore, high THC levels in gastric contents can be explained by the undergoing cycles of entero-hepatic circulation which resulted in a significant increase in THC in gastric contents. THC-COOH can be the best indicator to detect cannabinoids in toxicology studies, thus the inclusion of active THC metabolites is essential in death investigations. Additionally, THC-OH concentrations in postmortem cases could be influenced by body mass index. In this study, all types were specimens found to be suitable for testing cannabinoid metabolites, except for vitreous humor which showed low rates of detectability for cannabinoid metabolites.
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大麻相关死后病例中大麻素代谢物分析的血液、非血液液体和组织标本的比较
大麻的使用很普遍,是法医相关分析(死前和死后案件)中最常见的毒品之一。然而,即使考虑到其在中枢神经系统抑郁和心血管疾病中的作用,也很少调查非法使用大麻与死亡之间的相关性。很少有研究讨论其他非血液标本;这使得人们对分析人体不同部位的四氢大麻酚及其代谢物产生了特别的兴趣,以便做出准确的法医决定。在这里,我们正在研究Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)及其代谢物:(11-羟基-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC- oh)和11-不-Δ9-四氢大麻酚-9-羧基(THC- cooh))在不同尸体标本中的存在。在目前的研究中,43例尸体体液和组织样本先前被发现为大麻素阳性,采用碱性水解,然后采用固相萃取和LC-MS/MS分析四氢大麻酚及其代谢物的浓度。在本研究中,胆汁样品中THC- cooh和THC- oh的中位数浓度最高(分别为1380 ng/mL和8 ng/mL),而胃内容物中THC的中位数浓度最高(48 ng/mL)。这可以解释为死后血液向其他体液和组织的分布以及多次服用后在胆汁中的积聚。此外,胃内容物中高THC水平可以解释为正在进行的肠肝循环周期,导致胃内容物中THC显著增加。在毒理学研究中,THC- cooh是检测大麻素的最佳指标,因此在死亡调查中包含活性THC代谢物是必不可少的。此外,死后病例的THC-OH浓度可能受到体重指数的影响。在本研究中,除了玻璃体体表大麻素代谢物的检出率较低外,所有类型的标本都适合检测大麻素代谢物。
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来源期刊
Forensic Sciences Research
Forensic Sciences Research MEDICINE, LEGAL-
CiteScore
3.60
自引率
7.70%
发文量
158
审稿时长
26 weeks
期刊最新文献
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