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Airborne pollen and spores’ deposition in alveolar tissues as a tool in drowning forensic diagnosis

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Abstract

We report the results of a histological study of lung samples where an unusual quantity of airborne pollen and fungal spores was found in drowned rats. Pollen and spores were found in lungs of drowned rats but not in the post-mortem submerged ones. Another control group consisting of rats that underwent 60 min exposure to a highly pollen-loaded atmosphere also recorded negative for the presence of pollen or fungal spores. Pollen types coincided with plants growing at the surrounding gardens flowering during the days of the experiment, performed during spring, that were detected by the aerobiological trap located at the city. The pollen observed at the lower airways’ tissues were Chenopodiaceae, Cupressus, Ericaceae, Jasminum, Olea europaea, Plantago, Pinus, Poaceae, Quercus and Urticaceae. Regarding fungal spores Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cladosporium cladosporoides, Cladosporium herbarum, Leptosphaeria, Polythrincium and Phitomyces. Pollen and spores’ penetration into deeper regions of the respiratory tract is an unusual phenomenon not happening in regular breathing conditions. Our results revealed that these particles appeared in a significant number in lung samples of drowned animals probably pushed down from upper airways by the force of water inhalation during drowning. Their presence into alveolar spaces offer a useful forensic evidence in doubtful drowning autopsies, favoured by the characteristic of the sporopollenin (pollen wall) and chitin (fungal spore wall) resistance. Moreover, the presence of these particles in alveoli areas of drowned bodies can help forensics to obtain information about pre-mortem dates and places.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, Ecology and Plant Physiology, University of Córdoba, University Campus of Rabanales., 14071, Córdoba, Spain

    H. García-Mozo

  2. Section of Legal and Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain

    C. M. Beltran-Aroca & E. Girela-López

  3. Department of Forensic Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana

    I. K. Badu

  4. Section of Histology. Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain

    I. Jimena

Authors
  1. H. García-Mozo
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  2. C. M. Beltran-Aroca
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  3. I. K. Badu
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  4. I. Jimena
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  5. E. Girela-López
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Contributions

Herminia Garcia-Mozo: Conceptualization, Investigation, Visualization, Writing- Original draft preparation, Supervision. Cristina M. Beltran-Aroca: Investigation, Writing-Reviewing and Editing. Isaac K. Badu: Writing-Reviewing and Editing. Ignacio Jimena: Visualization, Investigation. Eloy Girela-Lopez: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Writing- Original draft preparation, Supervision.

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Correspondence to H. García-Mozo.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethics approval

The experiment was performed according to the Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2010 on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes and was ethically approved by the University of Córdoba bioethics committee before commencement.

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García-Mozo, H., Beltran-Aroca, C.M., Badu, I.K. et al. Airborne pollen and spores’ deposition in alveolar tissues as a tool in drowning forensic diagnosis. Aerobiologia 37, 281–291 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-021-09690-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-021-09690-y

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