Plant-Derived Poisons in Forensic Toxicology: Toxicokinetic, Biomarkers, Analytical Detection, and Medicolegal Interpretation for Sustainable Justice

Abstract

Toxic plants continue to be significant in forensic toxicology because they are both readily available and toxic plants and are diverse in their chemical makeup and potential to cause clinical and pathological effects that can be very non-specific. Some phytochemicals can cause cardiovascular, neurological, gastrointestinal, hepatic or multisystem toxicity, which can be lethal.Some of the phytochemicals can result in cardiovascular, neurological, gastrointestinal, hepatic or multisystem toxicity, which can be fatal. The integration of botanical evidence, toxicokinetic data, biomarkers, biological matrices, analytical confirmation, autopsy findings, and circumstances of death are required to make the forensic interpretation of these cases. The current review is a synthesis of plant-poison toxicology and a focus on those poisons that are known to be specific to plants: aconitine, oleandrin, taxines, colchicine, atropine/scopolamine, strychnine, ricin, abrin, and pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Targeted screening can still be done by the traditional chromatographic methods, while sensitive and selective confirmations are becoming common with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). The presence of biomarkers like ricinine, 3,5-dimethoxyphenol, oleandrin and characteristic alkaloid profiles may assist in toxicological attribution, but these considerations should be taken into account when interpreting the results: absorption, metabolism, matrix distribution and degradation, and post mortem redistribution. The review also discusses medico-legal interpretation, chain of custody, analytical uncertainty and the fact that it is important to distinguish between exposure and toxicologically significant contribution to death. A sustainable-justice perspective is added by taking a resource-efficient approach to screening, in responsibility to preserve evidence, by using standardized analytical workflows, or by providing access to advanced instrumentation in an equitable manner, and by practicing responsible laboratory practices for the environment. The review highlights several areas of current quantitative toxicokinetics, validated biomarkers, reference materials, interlaboratory harmonization, and interpretation of low-level findings, which remain problematic. Investigating plant poisoning, particularly with plants that are popular in the kitchen, requires analytical accuracy and sustainable working practices that are accessible, resource efficient and harmonised and can be carried out in various laboratory environments.