Forensic Science International
March 10, 2009
Jochen Beyer, Olaf H Drummer, Hans H Maurer
118 citations
Fatal plant poisonings are rare, though many plants contain dangerous alkaloids. Poisonings fall into three categories: accidental ingestions (often in children or from plant-mushroom mix-ups in adults), intentional ingestions (homicides and suicides), and abuse of plants for hallucinogenic effects. This review describes toxic alkaloids such as aconitine, atropine, coniine, colchicine, cytisine, dimethyltryptamine, harmine, harmaline, ibogaine, kawain, mescaline, scopolamine, and taxine, which are involved in fatal and non-fatal poisonings. It summarizes intoxication symptoms and reviews methods for detecting these substances in biological fluids.
Forensic Science International
May 20, 2011
Jennifer L. Pilgrim, Dimitri Gerostamoulos, Noel Woodford et al.
44 citations
Combining MDMA (ecstasy) with moclobemide, a reversible MAO-A inhibitor, can cause fatal serotonin toxicity. Four deaths in Australia are reported where this drug interaction led to symptoms including hyperthermia, hyperkalemia, profuse sweating, twitching, and shaking. Two cases had moclobemide concentrations consistent with prescribed doses, while two had higher, toxic levels. Three of the four individuals had some form of heart disease. Despite known risks, few fatalities from this combination have been documented.
Journal of Analytical Toxicology
May 1, 2011
Jennifer L. Pilgrim, Dimitri Gerostamoulos, Olaf H Drummer
36 citations
MDMA (ecstasy) is increasingly used and often combined with pharmaceutical drugs, especially serotonergic medications, raising concerns about toxicity and dangerous interactions. A review of all closed coronial cases in Victoria, Australia, from 2002 to 2008 identified 106 fatalities where MDMA was detected. Of these, 43 cases (41%) involved the concurrent use of MDMA with other drugs, including pharmaceuticals that could cause adverse reactions. Four cases were high-risk, involving the combination of MDMA and moclobemide, with additional moderate- and minor-risk cases. These findings underscore the need to recognize and publicize potentially lethal drug interactions, particularly serotonin toxicity.
Journal of Analytical Toxicology
March 21, 2023
Dimitri Gerostamoulos, Linda Glowacki, Maria Pricone et al.
9 citations
Over nine months, six deaths involved the combination of two new psychoactive substances: 4-fluoroamphetamine (4FA) and 25C-NBOMe. Four deaths were directly caused by the drugs' adverse effects, one resulted from a fall while intoxicated, and one occurred during restraint. In the four direct drug-caused fatalities, postmortem blood concentrations ranged from 330 to 682 ng/L for 4FA and 1.4 to 12 ng/mL for 25C-NBOMe. None of the cases showed concentrations suggesting high recreational doses. Other drugs were present in most cases, but the two substances together were considered the primary triggers. Agitation or aggression preceded collapse in two cases, and seizures possibly occurred in three.
Journal of Analytical Toxicology
November 30, 2018
Jeffrey D Pope, Kay Weng Choy, Olaf H Drummer et al.
9 citations
Ayahuasca, a traditional South American drink, produces hallucinogenic effects primarily through dimethyltryptamine (DMT), but DMT is short-lived and hard to detect in urine drug tests. This study tested a simpler detection method by targeting other drink components, the β-carboline harmala alkaloids. Three commercially available harmala alkaloids were characterized and added to a non-targeted high-resolution mass spectrometry urine drug screening method. Analyzing a urine sample from a patient suspected of ayahuasca consumption detected harmaline and tetrahydroharmaline (THH). Including harmala alkaloids in drug screen libraries may enable detection of ayahuasca use in patients undergoing non-targeted drug screening.
Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention
January 21, 2025
Jennifer L. Schumann, Matthew Di Rago, Noel Woodford et al.
1 citation
From 2010 to 2019 in Victoria, Australia, methylamphetamine (MA) was the most prevalent drug among fatally and injured drivers, detected in 12.3% of fatalities and 9.1% of injured drivers, with an increasing trend. Overall, 16.8% of car drivers and motorcyclists tested positive for one or more drugs, and 14% of crashes involved a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05% or higher. Among motorcyclist fatalities between 2015 and 2019, MA was detected in 27.9%, followed by THC (18.3%) and alcohol at 0.05% or higher (14.2%). Alcohol detections in fatalities declined but increased among injured motorcyclists and car drivers until 2017. THC detections rose among injured drivers until 2018. MDMA-positive driving decreased among injured drivers and remained stable at about 1% of fatalities. Drug-driving persists despite enhanced road safety measures.
Journal of chromatography. B, Analytical technologies in the biomedical and life sciences
November 30, 2020
Yan Shi, Roujia Wang, Shuai Yuan et al.
A rapid UHPLC-MS/MS method was developed to screen 16 tryptamines in hair samples. Twenty milligrams of hair were pulverized and processed, achieving limits of detection from 0.1 to 20 pg/mg and quantitation from 3 to 50 pg/mg. The method was applied to 191 hair samples from suspected tryptamine users; 77 tested positive for 5-MeO-DiPT, while the other 114 showed none of the targeted tryptamines or metabolites. In 34 samples, 5-MeO-DiPT and its metabolites 5-MeO-NiPT, 5-OH-DiPT, and 4-OH-DiPT were detected together. The method demonstrated good accuracy (91-114%), precision, and recovery (85-115%), making it suitable for forensic analysis of tryptamine use.