Two cases of lysergamide intoxication by ingestion of seeds from Hawaiian Baby Woodrose

Klinke, Helene Bendstrup; Müller, Irene Breum; Steffenrud, Steffen; Dahl-Sørensen, Rasmus

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2009.11.017

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Volume 197, Issue 1 , Pages e1-e5, 15 April 2010

Two cases of lysergamide intoxication by ingestion of seeds from Hawaiian Baby Woodrose

Helene Bendstrup Klinke
- Section of Forensic Chemistry, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederik V's Vej 11, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +45 3532 6258; fax: +45 3235 6085.
Irene Breum Müller
- Section of Forensic Chemistry, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederik V's Vej 11, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Steffen Steffenrud
- National Board of Forensic Medicine, Department of Forensic Genetics and Forensic Toxicology, Artillery Street 12, 587 58 Linköping, Sweden
Rasmus Dahl-Sørensen
- Section of Forensic Pathology, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederik V's Vej 11, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark

Received 3 September 2009; received in revised form 6 November 2009; accepted 17 November 2009. published online 17 December 2009.

Abstract

We describe two cases of human consumption of seeds from Argyreia nervosa (Hawaiian Baby Woodrose), which resulted in one fatality due to falling from a building and one surviving witness. The principal psychoactive constituent of the seeds, lysergamide (LSA), was recovered from blood and urine samples by mixed-mode cation exchange solid-phase extraction and quantified by ultra performance liquid chromatography–time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC–ToF/MS). The LSA concentrations were determined by UPLC–ToF/MS to be 4.9μg/L in blood and 1.0mg/L in urine in the dead person and 1.8μg/L in blood and 0.50mg/L in urine in the living person. These analytical findings were found to be in accordance with the case story, which indicated that seeds had been ingested and also noted psychological reactions, i.e. the will to jump out of the window. Other findings in the dead person were 22μg/L THC in blood, 0.71g/L ethanol in blood and 1.0g/L ethanol in vitreous humor. Constituents originating from the seeds of A. nervosa, i.e. LSA, ergonovine, lysergic acid α-hydroxyethylamide were also identified in the biological samples. The 2-hydroxy-3-oxo metabolites of LSA and ergonovine were identified in the urine sample of the deceased.