Notter Stephanie J, Stuart Barbara H, Rowe Rebecca, Langlois Neil
Centre for Forensic Science, University of Technology, Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia.
J Forensic Sci. 2009 Jan;54(1):195-201. doi: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2008.00911.x. Epub 2008 Nov 10.
The early stages of adipocere formation in both pig and human adipose tissue in aqueous environments have been investigated. The aims were to determine the short-term changes occurring to fat deposits during decomposition and to ascertain the suitability of pigs as models for human decomposition. Subcutaneous adipose tissue from both species after immersion in distilled water for up to six months was compared using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Changes associated with decomposition were observed, but no adipocere was formed during the initial month of decomposition for either tissue type. Early-stage adipocere formation in pig samples during later months was detected. The variable time courses for adipose tissue decomposition were attributed to differences in the distribution of total fatty acids between species. Variations in the amount of sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium were also detected between species. The study shows that differences in total fatty acid composition between species need to be considered when interpreting results from experimental decomposition studies using pigs as human body analogs.
已对猪和人体脂肪组织在水环境中尸蜡形成的早期阶段进行了研究。目的是确定分解过程中脂肪沉积物发生的短期变化，并确定猪作为人体分解模型的适用性。使用傅里叶变换红外光谱、气相色谱 - 质谱联用和电感耦合等离子体质谱对两种物种浸入蒸馏水长达六个月后的皮下脂肪组织进行了比较。观察到与分解相关的变化，但两种组织类型在分解的第一个月内均未形成尸蜡。在随后的几个月中检测到猪样本中有早期尸蜡形成。脂肪组织分解的时间进程不同归因于物种间总脂肪酸分布的差异。还检测到物种间钠、钾、钙和镁含量的变化。该研究表明，在解释以猪作为人体类似物的实验性分解研究结果时，需要考虑物种间总脂肪酸组成的差异。
