Does the presence of Ethanol and Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol®) influence the attractiveness of scavenger insects to carcasses? A pilot study in an Atlantic Forest fragment

Περίληψη

Flunitrazepam and ethanol are frequently involved in crimes, although studies investigating the effects of pretreatment with both substances on the attractiveness of vertebrate carcasses to necrophagous insects are scarce. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of ethanol, flunitrazepam and its combined action on the composition and structure of assemblies of visiting dipterans, as well as on the succession pattern of cadaverous fauna that can assist on forensic investigations. For that, 32 female Wistar rats were equally divided into groups: water (control), ethanol (21 days, only source of fluids), flunitrazepam (single dose, oral route, 2 mg/Kg) and ethanol (21 days, only source of fluids) plus flunitrazepam (single dose, 2 mg/Kg). Animals carcasses were placed in 32 traps set within a protected area and the visiting insects were monitored and collected for five consecutive days. A total of 3,165 necrophagous dipteran from the families Calliphoridae (61.7%), Fanniidae (10.5%), Sarcophagidae (10.4%), Anthomyiidae (4.0%), Muscidae (2.2%), Phoridae (0.9%) were collected. The highest rate of insect’s attraction was observed in the ethanol plus flunitrazepam combined treatment (44.3% of specimens), compared with the ethanol (20.8%) and flunitrazepam (15.0%) treatments, and control groups (19.7%). The composition and structure of the assemblies are more similar in carcasses with ethanol. Besides, the presence of ethanol and combined treatment altered the pattern of insect’s succession. These results indicate that the combined use of both rape-related substances increases the attractiveness of carcasses for insects, which could be a crucial entomological signal found in criminal investigations.

Αναφορές

  1. Y.Z.E. Erzinçlioglu; R.P. Whitcombe. Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann) (Dipt., Calliphoridae) in dung and causing myiasis in Oman. Entomol. Mon. Mag. 119: 51-52 (1983).
  2. K.G.V. Smith. A manual of forensic entomology. Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca, NY (1986) 11-35.
  3. E.P. Catts; M.L. Goff. Forensic Entomology in criminal investigation. Annu. Rev. Entomol. 37: 253-272 (1992).
  4. R.D. Hall. Perceptions and status of forensic entomology, In: J.H. Byrd; J.L. Castner. Forensic entomology: the utility of arthropods in legal investigations. CRC, Boca Raton, FL (2001) 1-16.
  5. J. Oliveira-Costa J. Insetos “Peritos”. A Entomologia Forense no Brasil. Editora Millennium, 1a ed, Campinas, SP (2013) 1-65.
  6. L. Goff; W.D. Lord. Entomotoxicology: a new area for forensic investigation. Am. J. Forensic Med. Pathol. 15: 51-57 (1994).
  7. J.C.M. Brust. "Ethanol and Cognition: Indirect Effects, Neurotoxicity and Neuroprotection: A Review". Int J Environ. Res. Public. Health. 7: 1540-1557 (2010).
  8. J.C. Clark. Sudden death in the chronic alcoholic. Forensic Sci. Int. 36: 105-11 (1988).
  9. S.Y. Issa; M. Aldossary; M.K. Almazroua; M.A.S. Youssef; S. Ghaleb; K. Alsowayigh; M. Kharoshah. Patterns of violent deaths associated with positive ethanol finding in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Egypt J. Forensic Sci. 6: 388–395 (2016).
  10. A.U. Hansen; J. Simonsen. The manner and cause of death in a forensic series of chronic alcoholics. Forensic Sci. Int. 49: 171–178 (1991).
  11. J. Rehm; K.D. Shield. Global alcohol-attributable deaths from cancer, liver cirrhosis, and injury in 2010. Alcohol Res. Current Rev. 35: 174-183 (2013).
  12. G.C. Britt; E.F. McCance-Katz. A brief overview of the clinical pharmacology of “club drugs” subst. Use & Misuse 40: 1189-1201 (2005).
  13. P.M. Gahlinger. Club Drugs: MDMA, Gamma-Hydroxybutirate (GHB), Rohypnol, and Ketamine. Am. Fam. Physician 69: 2619-2626 2004.
  14. A. Takiguchi; T. Masuoka; Y. Yamamoto; A. Mikami; C. Kamei. Potentiation of ethanol in spatial memory deficits induced by some benzodiazepines. J. Pharmacol. Sci. 101: 325-328 (2006).
  15. K.L. Medina; P.K. Shear; J. Schafer. Memory functioning in polysubstance dependent women. Drug Alcohol Depend. 84: 248-255 (2006).
  16. N.A. Ab´Saber. Os domínios morfoclimáticos na América do Sul. Geomorfologia. 52: 1-23 (1997).
  17. M.S.B. Freire. Levantamento florístico do Parque Estadual das Dunas do Natal. Acta. Bot. Bras. 4: 41-59 (1990).
  18. C. Kilkenny; W. Browne; I.C. Cuthill; M. Emerson; D.G. Altman. Animal research: reporting in vivo experiments: the ARRIVE guidelines. Br. J. Pharmacol. 160: 1577-1579 (2010).
  19. C.R. Tirapelli; S.Y. Fukada; A.Z. Chignalia;R.C. Tostes; D. Bonaventura; V.L. Lanchote; F.Q. Cunha; A. M. Oliveira. Gender‐specific vascular effects elicited by chronic ethanol consumption in rats: a role for inducible nitric oxide synthase. Br. J. Pharmacol. 153: 468-479 (2008).
  20. D.D. Junqueira-Ayres; L. Asth; A.S. Ayres; B. Lobão-Soares; V.D.P. Soares-Rachetti; E.C. Gavioli. Topiramate reduces basal anxiety and relieves ethanol withdrawal-induced anxious behaviors in male rats. Exp. Clin. Psychopharm. 25: 105-113 (2017).
  21. K. Shinomiya; Y. Shigemoto; J. Omichi; Y. Utsu; M. Mio; C. Kamei. Effects of three hypnotics on the sleep-wakefulness cycle in sleep-disturbed rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 173: 203-209 (2004).
  22. J.M.M. Ferreira. Synantropy of muscoids dipterous from Curitiba, Paraná. I. Calliphoridae. Rev. Bras. Biol. 38: 445-454 (1978).
  23. C.J.B. Carvalho; C.A. Mello-Patiu. Key to the adults of the most common forensic species of Diptera in South America. Rev. Bras. Entomol. 52: 390-406 (2008).
  24. K.P. Vairo; C.A. Mello-Patiu; C.J.B. Carvalho. Pictorial identification key for species of Sarcophagidae (Diptera) of potential forensic importance in southern Brazil. Rev. Bras. Entomol. 55: 333-347 (2011).
  25. N.J. Gotelli; A.M. Ellison. Princípios de estatística em ecologia. Artmed, 1ª ed., Porto Alegre, (2011) 327-462.
  26. A.K. Osayande; D.E. Oseremen; I.I. Charlesn; O. Eseiwi; I.R.M. Ndubuisi; O. Oghogho. Effects of alcohol and Rohypnol combination on the liver function of adult albino rats. Am. J. Chem. Materials Sci. 5: 28-33 (2018).
  27. O.H. Drummer; M.L. Syrjanen; S.M. Cordner. Deaths Involving the Benzodiazepine Flunitrazepam. Am. J. Forensic Med. Pathol. 14: 238-243 (1993).
  28. F. Introna; C.P. Campobasso; M.L. Goff. Entomotoxicology. Forensic Sci. Int. 120: 42-47 (2001).
  29. T.C. Moretti; O.B. Ribeiro; P.J. Thyssen; D.R. Solis. Insects on decomposing carcasses of small rodents in a secondary forest in Southeastern Brazil. Eur. J. Entomol. 105: 691-696 (2008).
  30. J.E.L. Corry. A review – possible sources of ethanol ante and postmortem: Its relationship to the biochemistry and microbiology of decomposition. J. Appl. Bacteriol. 44: 1-56 (1978).
  31. M.L. Goff; W. D. Lord Entomotoxicology: Insects as Toxicological Indicators and the Impact of Drugs and Toxins on Insect Development, In J.H. Byrd; J.L. Castner. Forensic Entomology: The utility of arthropods in legal investigations. CRC press, (2009) 427-437.
  32. K.L. Tabor; R.D. Fell; K. Pelzer; G.S. Behonick. Effects of antemortem ingestion of ethanol on insect successional patterns and development of Phormia regina (Diptera: Calliphoridae). J. Med. Entomol. 42: 481-489 (2005).
  33. L.E. Hollister. Interactions between Alcohol and Benzodiazepines. Recent Dev. Alcohol 8: 233–239 (1990).
  34. E. Tanaka; S. Misawa. Pharmacokinetic interactions between acute alcohol ingestion and single doses of benzodiazepines, and tricyclic and tetracyclic antidepressants - an update. J. Clin. Pharm. Ther. 23: 331-336 (1998).
  35. F. Boulkenafet; Y. Dob; R. Karroi; M. Al-Khalifa; Y. Boumrah; M. Toumi; A. Mashaly. Detection of benzodiazepines in decomposing rabbit tissues and certain necrophagic dipteran species of forensic importance. Saudi J. Biol. Sci. 27: 1691-1698 (2020).
  36. T.C. Baia; A. Campos; B.M.S. Wanderley; R.A. Gama. The effect of Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) on the development of Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and its implications for Forensic Entomology. J. Forensic Sci. 61: 1112-1115 (2016).
  37. E.L.A. Monteiro-Filho; J.L. Peneireiro. Estudo da decomposição e sucessão sobre uma carcaça animal numa área do estado de São Paulo, Brasil. Rev. Bras. Biol. 47: 289-295 (1987).
  38. J.H. Guimarães; A.P. Prado; G.M. Buralli. Dispersal and distribution of three newly introduced species of Chrysomya Robineau-Desvoid in Brazil (Diptera: Calliphoridae). Rev. Bras. Entomol. 23: 245-255 (1979).
  39. L.M.L. Carvalho; P.J. Thyssen; A.X. Linhares; F.A.B. Palhares. A checklist of arthropods associated with pig carrion and human corpses in Southeastern Brazil. Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz 95: 135-138 (2000).
  40. S.D. Vasconcelos; T.F. Soares; D.L. Costa. Multiple colonization of a cadaver by insects in an indoor environment: first record of Fannia trimaculata (Diptera: Fanniidae) and Peckia (Peckia) chrysostoma (Sarcophagidae) as colonizers of a human corpse. Int. J. Legal Med. 128: 229-233 (2014).
  41. M. Barreto; M.E. Burbano; P. Barreto. Flies (Calliphoridae, Muscidae) and beetles (Silphidae) from human cadavers in Cáli, Colombia. Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz 97: 137-138 (2002).
  42. S. Vanin; L. Caenazzo; A. Arseni; G. Cecchetto; C. Cattaneo; M. Turchetto. Records of Chrysomya albiceps in Northern Italy: an ecological and forensic perspective. Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz 104: 555–557 (2009).
  43. T.K. Kumara; R.H. Disney; A. Abu Hassan; M. Flores; T.S. Hwa; Z. Mohamed; M.R. Chesalmah; S. Bhupinder. Occurrence of oriental flies associated with indoor and outdoor human remains in the tropical climate of north Malaysia. J. Vector Ecol. 37: 62-68 (2012).
  44. H.T.A. Andrade; A.A. Varela-Freire; M.J.A. Batista; J.F. Medeiros. Calliphoridae (Diptera) coletados em cadáveres humanos no Rio Grande do Norte. Neotrop. Entomol. 34: 855-856 (2005).
  45. L.M.R. Meira; T.M. Barbosa; J.T. Jales; A.N. Santos; R.A. Gama. Insects associated to crime scenes in the Northeast of Brazil: Consolidation of collaboration between entomologists and Criminal Investigation Institutes. J. Med. Entomol. 57: 1012-1020 (2020).
Creative Commons License

Αυτή η εργασία είναι αδειοδοτημένη υπό το CC Αναφορά Δημιουργού – Μη Εμπορική Χρήση – Παρόμοια Διανομή 4.0.

Πνευματική ιδιοκτησία (c) 2024 Brazilian Journal of Criminalistics

Μερίδιο

Κατεβάστε

pdf (English)

Συγγραφέας (ες)