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The Identification of Ingested Dandelion Juice in Gastric Contents of a Deceased Person by Direct Sequencing and GC–MS Methods *
Author(s) -
Lee Eunjung,
Kim Suncheun,
Hwang Inkwan,
Yang Heejin,
Kim Younshin,
Han Myunsoo,
Yang Moonsik,
Lee Yanghan
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2009.01019.x
Subject(s) - dandelion , biology , internal transcribed spacer , chemistry , food science , chromatography , ribosomal rna , biochemistry , medicine , gene , pathology , alternative medicine , traditional chinese medicine
DNA and chemical analysis of gastric contents of a deceased person were handled in this work. The body of the victim was discovered in his car, submerged in a lake. We were asked to determine whether or not the gastric contents of the victim harbored drugs and dandelion material. It was suspected that the victim had been murdered by poisoning with an excess amount of sleeping medication (doxylamine), which had been homogenized with dandelion. The concentrations of 11.4 and 27.5 mg/kg of doxylamine detected from spleen and liver of the victim were far higher than the assumed therapeutic concentration. Via gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis and direct sequencing analysis of plant genetic markers such as intergenic transcribed spacer, 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA), rbc L and trn LF, it was confirmed that the gastric contents of the victim contained taraxasterol, which is one of the marker compounds for dandelion and contained dandelion species‐specific rbc L and trn L‐ trn F IGS ( trn LF) sequences. The initial PCR of the genomic DNA isolated from the gastric contents showed insufficient quantity, and the second PCR, of which the template was a portion of the initial PCR products, exhibited a sufficient quantity for direct sequencing. rbc L and trn LF located in the cpDNA resulted in the successful determination of dandelion DNA in a decedent’s stomach contents. GC–MS identifies the actual presence of a taraxasterol at 28.4 min. Raw dandelion was assumed to be used as a masking vehicle for excess sleeping drug (doxylamine).