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Fatal intoxication by intravenous injection of castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) extract—a case study

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Abstract

A case report of a 25-year-old man who committed suicide by intravenous injection himself of an aqueous home-made castor bean extract is presented. The patient was hospitalized and treated symptomatically and was released at its own request fourth day after intoxication. The next day, the patient’s condition deteriorated, and he died 6 days after intoxication even though he was given medical care. Case history, autopsy, and toxicological investigation of ante- and post-mortem collected materials are described. Blood and urine collected from the patient ante-mortem and other several biological materials (namely blood from the upper and lower limb, blood from the right and left ventricle, pericardial fluid, vitreous humour, liver, kidney, and spleen) were collected post-mortem during autopsy. Liquid–liquid extraction procedure followed by high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry analysis for identification and determination of ricinine as a biomarker of ricin/castor seed intoxication was developed and validated. The method was applied on analysis of collected ante- and post-mortem biological materials. The post-mortem contents of ricinine in organs (namely the liver, kidney, and spleen) are firstly reported. The obtained results indicated approximately uniform distribution of ricinine (concentration level about 1 ng mL−1) in the body after death. In addition, the GC-MS method was also applied for the analysis of extract of castor seed and the patient’s urine, to demonstrate alternative possibility for identification of ricinine for clinical and forensic purposes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forensic Medicine, University Hospital Ostrava, 17. listopadu 1790/5, CZ-70852, Ostrava, Czech Republic

    Marie Staňková & Petr Handlos

  2. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, 30. Dubna 22, CZ-70103, Ostrava, Czech Republic

    Martin Švidrnoch

  3. Department of Forensic Medicine and Medical Law, University Hospital Olomouc, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University, Hněvotínská 3, CZ-77900, Olomouc, Czech Republic

    Vítězslav Maier

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  1. Marie Staňková
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  2. Petr Handlos
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  4. Vítězslav Maier
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Correspondence to Vítězslav Maier.

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Staňková, M., Handlos, P., Švidrnoch, M. et al. Fatal intoxication by intravenous injection of castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) extract—a case study. Int J Legal Med 134, 2133–2141 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-020-02340-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-020-02340-x

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