Citation

Brooks-Lim EWL, Mérette SA, Hawkins BJ, Maxwell C, Washbrook A, Shapiro AM. J. Forensic Sci. 2021; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/1556-4029.14941

PMID

34779510

Abstract

Poisoning from consumption of foraged alternative medicine products is an uncommon yet recognized occurrence. Here, presented is the case of a 40-year-old woman who was witnessed to collapse with labored breathing and subsequently died despite emergency medical personnel attendance and resuscitation efforts. Autopsy revealed the presence of plant matter that was visually identified as leaves from Taxus baccata - the English Yew. Isolation of alkaloids from the plant material and subsequent identification of the same alkaloids in the decedent's blood by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry indicated a toxicological cause of death. This case illustrates a collaborative team approach among subject matter experts to unexpectedly discover and then confirm the sudden death of this woman from T. baccata toxicity.

Language: en

Keywords

autopsy; forensic toxicology; English yew; forensic botany; forensic pathology; LC-MS/MS; liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; sudden death; Taxines; Taxus baccata; Yew alkaloids