Preliminary gas chromatography with mass spectrometry determination of 3,5-dimethoxyphenol in biological specimens as evidence of taxus poisoning.
Taxus baccata is a widely distributed yew often associated with cases of fatal intoxication, which is related to the high amounts of cardiotoxic alkaloids, taxine A and taxine B, contained in its leaves. In this paper, a case of Taxus fatal poisoning, hypothesized by the forensic autopsy, has been confirmed by the application of both gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) techniques. A GC-MS method was used for the determination of the derivatized 3,5-dimethoxyphenol, a cyanogenic aglylactone considered as a marker of Taxus poisoning, being present in all species of Taxus. The detection by LC-MS-MS of taxine B and isotaxine B in the biological specimens confirmed the absorption of cardiotoxic alkaloids and allowed to established the cause of death as the ingestion of Taxus baccata leaves.
Froldi
R
R
Università di Macerata, Institute of Legal Medicine, Via Don Minzoni 9, 62100 Macerata, Italy.
Croci
P F
PF
Dell'Acqua
L
L
Farè
F
F
Tassoni
G
G
Gambaro
V
V
D000328:Adult; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010696:Phloroglucinol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000378:metabolism / Q000506:poisoning*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry; D013405:Suicide; D020946:Taxus / Q000737:chemistry*
D010936:Plant Extracts; C015155:phloroglucinol dimethyl ether; D010696:Phloroglucinol