Citation

Devnath GP, Kumaran S, Rajiv R, Shaha KK, Nagaraj A. J. Forensic Sci. 2017; 62(6): 1668-1670.

Affiliation

Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, 605006, India.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/1556-4029.13489

PMID

28261784

Abstract

Folic acid is B-9 vitamin. Folic acid is prescribed commonly for pregnant women to prevent neural tube defects in the fetus, patients under chemotherapy, pernicious anemia and to reduce the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease. Acute or chronic ingestion of a large dose of folic acid generally manifests as neurological complications, which are reversible. In this present case, a 23-year-old pregnant woman committed suicide by consuming folic acid tablets and succumbed to death within 36 h. Postmortem toxicological analysis detected folic acid in viscera. Death following acute consumption of folic acid is rare and has been not reported in the literature, to the best of our knowledge.

© 2017 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Language: en

Keywords

folic acid; forensic science; histopathology; pregnant woman; suicide; toxicological analysis