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Published:
Journal of Analytical Toxicology,
ISSN 0146-4760,
Volume 25,
Number 6 September 2001, pp. 481-485
CASE
REPORT: LC–EI-MS
Determination of Veratridine and Cevadine in Two Fatal Cases of Veratrum album
Poisoning
Yvan
Gaillard and Gilbert Pepin
Laboratoire d’Expertises TOXLAB, 7 rue Jacques Cartier, 75018
Paris, France
We
report two fatal poisonings due to the ingestion of plant material. The two
deceased were discovered in the water of a mountain lake about one month after
the postmortem immersion of the corpses. Macroscopic examination of the stomachs
revealed the presence of a very large number of small blackish granules, which
were later identified as seeds of a Veratrum species. Veratridine and cevadine
were identified and quantitated by high-performance liquid chromatography–electrospray
ionization-mass spectrometry. Measured blood concentrations were 0.17 and
0.40 ng/mL for veratridine and 0.32 and 0.48 ng/mL for cevadine. The absence
of other toxic substance led to the assumption that this massive ingestion
was the cause of death, although the circumstances surrounding intake remained
unknown.
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