Abstract
The decomposition of an inert body seems to depend on the physiological, biological and physical characteristics of the corpse. The effect of these, especially of extra-biological mechanisms, on the rate of decomposition of the corpse does not seem to be sufficiently explored. The present work proposes to examine the influence of the type of feeding on the rate of cadaver decomposition in a human surrogate. It is based on a sample of four corpses of juvenile male pigs of the species Sus scrofa domesticus, three of which are experimental and one is a control aged 12 weeks and having a mass between 19 and 24 kg. The three experimental pigs were fed an energetic, construction and functional diet respectively. The control was fed a general diet. These different carcasses are exposed to the open air on four similar sites. The experiment is repeated twice, according to the protocol that guided the initial experiment conducted on comparable sites (eight cadavers, six experimental and two control). The measurement of the pigs’ diet was done through a questionnaire. The mass of the decomposing carcass was explored by a specific tool, in this case, the weighing device. The results show that the rate of decomposition of the cadaver of pigs fed a general diet is higher than that of the cadavers of their counterparts fed construction, functional or energy diets. The type of diet would therefore influence the rate of decomposition of the cadaver of a human surrogate.
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Acknowledgements
The authors of the present work are grateful to the managers of the National Centre for Agronomic Research, the National Zoo of Abidjan and the National Centre for Floristics for having accepted that the experiments take place in their respective establishments. They also thank the staff of the said establishments for their contribution to the realisation of these factual experiments.
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The preliminary scientific fact is the result of a collective reflection of Ivorian researchers from the University Félix Houphouët-Boigny of Abidjan and the National Institute of Public Hygiene. All the authors have contributed to the study conception and design. The initiator of the research is Kouakou Jérôme Kouadio, He carried out the major part of the article. He problematised the phenomenon by writing the introduction. He is also the one who conceived the design of the experiment and the procedures for carrying it out. The first author thus wrote the methodology of the article, the plan of the results. He significantly restructured the presentation, analysis and discussion of the results. He readjusted the conclusion and references. The second author, Kobenan Kouma Anicet Kouadio, organized the experiment under the supervision of the first and third authors. He carried out the mapping of the experimental site and presented the results of the experiment. The second author also contributed to the analysis and discussion of the results. The third author, Alexandre Franklin Koffi, contributed to the paper by participating in the planning of the experiment and the execution of the experiment at the different experimental sites. The fourth author, Kouakou Firmin Kouassi, contributed to the choice of the statistical test and its application to the data collected. The last two authors, Louis Roi Nondenot Aboua and Jean-Bertin Beugre, participated in the reading and proofreading of the article and suggested corrections in different parts of the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
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Kouadio, K.J., Kouadio, K.K.A., Koffi, A.F. et al. Diet and rate of decomposition of the corpse in a human surrogate. Int J Legal Med 138, 43–53 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-022-02877-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-022-02877-z