Fründ Heinz-Christian, Schoenen Dirk
Department of Landscape Architecture and Agricultural Sciences, Fachhochschule Osnabrück-University of Applied Sciences, Oldenburger Landstrasse 24, D-49090 Osnabrück, Germany.
Forensic Sci Int. 2009 Jul 1;188(1-3):18-22. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2009.03.005. Epub 2009 Apr 16.
Adipocere is formed from body fat in moist and oxygen-deficient decay conditions. The persistence of adipocere may cause problems for the reuse of graves after the expiration of statutory resting times in some countries. Up to now, no quantitative data existed on the persistence of adipocere in either aerated or anoxic conditions. We investigated the rate of degradation (disappearance) of adipocere in five different samples from human corpses. The experimental incubation was (a) in water without air contact, (b) in water with access to air, (c) in physiological saline with access to air, (d) on sterilized quartz sand, (e) in vitro on living soil, and (f) buried 15 cm deep in field soil. The weight loss of the samples was determined after 215 (293) days and half-lives were calculated under the assumption of simple first-order kinetics. Furthermore, the nitrogen content and the fatty acid composition of the adipocere samples were analyzed. The results revealed half-lives that differ between the adipocere samples from 11 to 82 years under anaerobic conditions (mean of all samples, 37 years). In air, the half-life of adipocere was reduced to about one tenth, ranging from 0.7 to 10 years (mean of 2.8 years for all samples incubated in aerated physiological saline, mean of 4.0 years for all samples incubated on living soil in the laboratory). Burying adipocere in a biologically active field soil resulted in half-lives of disappearance from 1.2 years to 2.1 years (mean, 1.5 years). The N content of the adipocere samples ranged between 1.9 and 6.7 mg N g(-1). The sample with the highest N content was also that with the lowest half-life of disappearance in all types of incubation. The fatty acid analysis of the samples revealed a composition typical of adipocere, with a clear dominance of saturated acids (palmitic, myristic and stearic acid) over unsaturated ones. The variation of fatty acid composition between the different adipocere samples could only be attributed partly to their age and the burial conditions. It can be concluded that the aeration of adipocere-laden corpses will lead to a disappearance of adipocere (and hence restitution of the decay process) within a time span of several years.
尸蜡是在潮湿且缺氧的腐烂条件下由人体脂肪形成的。在一些国家，法定安息时间期满后，尸蜡的持续存在可能会给坟墓的重新使用带来问题。到目前为止，无论是在有氧还是缺氧条件下，都没有关于尸蜡持续存在的定量数据。我们研究了来自人体尸体的五个不同样本中尸蜡的降解（消失）速率。实验培养条件为：(a) 在与空气不接触的水中；(b) 在可接触空气的水中；(c) 在可接触空气的生理盐水中；(d) 在消毒后的石英砂上；(e) 在活土上进行体外培养；(f) 埋在田间土壤中15厘米深处。在215（293）天后测定样本的重量损失，并在假设为简单一级动力学的情况下计算半衰期。此外，还分析了尸蜡样本的氮含量和脂肪酸组成。结果显示，在厌氧条件下，尸蜡样本的半衰期在11至82年之间有所不同（所有样本的平均值为37年）。在空气中，尸蜡的半衰期缩短至约十分之一，范围为0.7至10年（在通气生理盐水中培养的所有样本的平均值为2.8年，在实验室活土上培养的所有样本的平均值为4.0年）。将尸蜡埋在具有生物活性的田间土壤中，其消失的半衰期为1.2年至2.1年（平均值为1.5年）。尸蜡样本的氮含量在1.9至6.7毫克氮/克（-1）之间。氮含量最高的样本也是在所有培养类型中消失半衰期最短的样本。样本的脂肪酸分析显示出典型的尸蜡组成，饱和酸（棕榈酸、肉豆蔻酸和硬脂酸）明显多于不饱和酸。不同尸蜡样本之间脂肪酸组成的变化只能部分归因于它们的年龄和埋葬条件。可以得出结论，充满尸蜡的尸体通气将导致尸蜡在几年的时间内消失（从而恢复腐烂过程）。
