NCJ Number
225908
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 54 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2009 Pages: 202-206
Date Published
January 2009
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This study examined the effects of butylscopolamine bromide, a drug present in the pharmaceutical formulation Buscopan, on the development of Chrysomya megachephala, a blow-fly species of considerable forensic and medical importance in Brazil.
Abstract
The study found that all larvae that received twice the rat lethal dose (RLD) of 1,279 mg/kg of Buscopan died within 54 hours, which indicates a strong negative effect of butylscopolamine bromide on the development and survival of this species when reared in an artificial medium that contains the drug. In addition, a strong negative influence was also caused by the lethal dose (RLD), which caused a 54-hour delay in the development of the flies, suggesting significant bias may exist in estimations of the postmortem interval (PMI) when large amounts of the drug are ingested prior to death. Similar effects were also found in other studies that performed experiments with methamphetamine, cocaine, and morphine. Generally, control larvae developed faster than the ones from all other groups. In addition, larvae exposed to butyl scopolamine bromide weighed less and had shorter body length compared with larvae reared in the absence of Buscopan. The larvae used in the experiment were obtained from colonies established from eggs of these flies. A ZEISS Stemi SV 11 stereomicroscope was used to count and separate the newly hatched larvae in groups of 400 individuals each, which were kept in glass vials covered with nylon. The larvae were fed an artificial diet. After the diet preparation and while it was still liquid, Buscopan was added to the diet in four different concentrations, according to a RLD of 1,270 mg/kg. The concentrations studied were a quarter of the RLD, half of the RLD, full RLD, and twice the RLD. 4 tables, 2 figures, and 34 references