Citation

Mebs D, May M. Blutalkohol 1980; 17(3): 207-213.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1980, International Committee on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety and Bund gegen Alkohol und Drogen im Straßenverkehr, Publisher Steintor Verlag)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The postmortal alcohol production in the body was investigated using rats (18 animals per group) which were deprived of food for 24 hr (control) and, in a second group, received 5 g glucose (in 10 ml physiol. saline) by i.p. injection one hour before death (blow in the neck). After 24 hr at 35(degrees)C, the cadavers were in an advanced state of putrefaction. Ethanol and other alcohols were determined in blood, liver, spleen, muscle and brain tissue samples by gas chromatography (head-space-method). In most cases, ethanol could be detected in considerable concentrations in blood as well as in the tissue samples. Glucose administration before death generally produced much higher (double or triple) ethanol concentrations than in the food deprived group. Furthermore, great variations of the alcohol values were found in both groups, i.e., blood alcohol concentrations in the range of 0 to 0.14% and of 0 and 0.47% in the case of muscle tissue. In 37 to 80% of the cases, n-propanol was detected besides ethanol. However, non-constant correlations between the two alcohols were found. The percentage ratio (n-propanol to ethanol) was between 0.6 to 31%. Amyl- and butylalcohol occurred only occasionally. The concentration of the postmortally produced alcohol seems to depend on the amount of carbohydrate available and, probably, on the strains and the tissue distribution of microbes responsible for putrefaction.