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Postmortem redistribution of THC in the pig

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Abstract

To improve the knowledge of the postmortem redistribution of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), an animal model using the Large White pig has been developed, whereby 15 pigs received an intravenous injection of THC (200 µg/kg body weight) and were euthanized 2 h after administration. An autopsy was performed on three pigs immediately after being euthanized while the others were stored in supine position at ambient temperature for 6, 15, 24, or 48 h. THC concentration in blood from the vena cava decreased after death whereas left or right cardiac blood concentrations increased. No blood specimens collected from different sites of the carcasses adequately reflected the perimortem THC concentrations. The highest concentrations of THC at anytime were observed in lung tissue, and brain tissue seemed to present the most stable concentrations over time. This study can assist toxicologists in determining which specimens can, most appropriately, be used for interpretation of cannabinoid concentrations in postmortem specimens.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank N. Chatauret and R. Thuillier for their valuable assistance with manuscript preparation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INSERM U927, Université de Poitiers, Faculté de Médecine et Pharmacie, CHU de Poitiers, 6 rue de la Milétrie, BP 577, 86021, Poitiers, France

    Bertrand Brunet, Thierry Hauet & Gérard Mauco

  2. Laboratoire de Toxicologie et Pharmacocinétique, Centre Hospitalier et Universitaire de Poitiers, rue de la Milétrie, BP 577, 86021, Poitiers, France

    Bertrand Brunet, Yves Papet & Patrick Mura

  3. Laboratoire de Biochimie, Centre Hospitalier et Universitaire de Poitiers, rue de la Milétrie, BP 577, 86021, Poitiers, France

    Thierry Hauet & Gérard Mauco

  4. Laboratoire de Chirurgie Expérimentale, Institut National pour la Recherche Agronomique, Domaine du Magneraud, 17700, Surgères, France

    William Hébrard

Authors
  1. Bertrand Brunet
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  2. Thierry Hauet
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  3. William Hébrard
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  4. Yves Papet
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  5. Gérard Mauco
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  6. Patrick Mura
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bertrand Brunet.

Additional information

This work was presented in part at the 14th Annual Meeting of the Société Française de Toxicologie Analytique, Le Touquet, France, 2006, and at the 44th International Meeting of the International Association of Forensic Toxicologists, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2006.

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Brunet, B., Hauet, T., Hébrard, W. et al. Postmortem redistribution of THC in the pig. Int J Legal Med 124, 543–549 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-009-0403-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-009-0403-2

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