Analytical detection and quantitation of strychnine in chemically fixed organ tissues

This study reports the results of the detection and quantitation of strychnine in formalin-fixed tissues and in the formalin solutions in which the tissues were fixed. The toxicological analyses were performed on formalin-fixed liver and kidney samples and formalin solutions (10% buffered pH 7) in which the same samples from a case of acute strychnine poisoning were preserved. The analyses carried out at the time of autopsy on body fluid and tissues (bile, 2.40 mg/L; stomach contents, 14.2 mg; liver, 6.68 mg/kg; kidney, 2.68 mg/kg) allowed the identification of this substance as cause of death. The tissue samples were preserved in formalin solutions for 8 weeks. The analyses performed on formalin-fixed tissues (liver and kidney) and on formalin solutions, in which the same tissues were preserved, permitted the detection and quantitation of strychnine (liver, 1.59 mg/kg; formalin from the liver, 1.80 mg/L; kidney, 0.98 mg/kg; formalin from the kidney, 1.11 mg/L). The results indicate that this particular toxic substance also shows good stability in biological specimens subjected to chemical fixation.