A case of aconitine poisoning with analysis of aconitine alkaloids by GC/SIM.
Described here is a fatal case of accidental aconitine poisoning following the ingestion of aconite, Torikabuto, mistaken for an edible grass, Momijigasa. A 61-year-old man developed symptoms of nausea, diarrhea, and discomfort of the body about 2 h after the ingestion and was taken to an emergency room. Resuscitation and antiarrhythmic drugs were ineffective, and ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation developed and lasted for 6 h. He was transferred to a coronary care unit and complete sinus rhythm was obtained on an electrocardiogram 30 h after his admission. The patient fell into a coma and died of brain edema diagnosed by CT on the 6th day. Consent for autopsy was denied by the family but was given for gas chromatography/selected ion monitoring (GC/SIM) to analyze the toxicity of aconitine alkaloids in the blood and the urine. Only a faint amount of jesaconitine was detected, while aconitine, mesaconitine and hypaconitine were not detectable in the blood 24 h after ingestion. On the other hand, aconitine and its related alkaloids such as mesaconitine, jesaconitine, and hypaconitine were clearly detected in the urine.
Yoshioka
N
N
Department of Forensic Medicine, Akita University School of Medicine, Japan.
Gonmori
K
K
Tagashira
A
A
Boonhooi
O
O
Hayashi
M
M
Saito
Y
Y
Mizugaki
M
M
D000157:Aconitine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000506:poisoning* / Q000652:urine; D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000379:methods*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D006801:Humans; D017736:Ion-Selective Electrodes; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010945:Plants, Edible; D006109:Poaceae; D011041:Poisoning / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine
C058309:hypaconitine; C019470:mesaconitine; C069418:jesaconitine; D000157:Aconitine