Impact of Methamphetamine on the Development of the Forensically Important Species Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae)
-
Seyedeh Zahra Parkhideh
,
Mehdi Forouzesh
,
Maryam Akhgari
,
Kamran Akbarzadeh
,
Sara Rahimi
,
Sayena Rafizadeh
,
Yavar Rassi
Abstract
Background: Drugs or poisons can affect the larvae's developmental period in cadavers, leading to variations in the post-mortem interval (PMI) calculation. One of the most misused psychostimulant drugs in Asia and North America, Methamphetamine (MA), is commonly involved in forensic entomotoxicological situations. This study investigated the impact of various MA concentrations on the developmental rate, morphology, and behavior of Lucilia sericata.
Methods: Lucilia sericata was maintained at 28 °C and 50±10% humidity in the Calliphoridae breeding laboratory at the School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Chicken liver substrates with varying concentrations of MA (0, 45, 90, and 180 ng/mg) were used to produce L. sericata eggs. Ten samples were randomly selected from each treatment group for morphological analysis, including weight and size measurements, at each sampling stage (every 12 hours up to 300 hours). With a significance level of p< 0.05, the General Linear Model (GLM) Mixed Model ANOVA was used to compare the data.
Results: The development time of L. sericata was shown to be changed by Methamphetamine concentrations, which decreased by 24 hours at 90 and 180 ng/mg. Compared to the control group, larvae and pupae lengths decreased by 1.22 and 0.7 mm, respectively, at 180 ng/mg. Additionally, the weight of the larvae and pupae in the concentration mentioned above decreased by 7.52 and 7 mg, respectively, in comparison to the control group.
Conclusion: The PMI is estimated incorrectly if the presence of Methamphetamine in the corpse is disregarded.
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2. Goff ML, Brown WA, Hewadikaram KA, Omori AI (1991) Effect of heroin in de-composing tissues on the develop¬ment rate of Boettcherisca peregrina (Diptera, Sar¬cophagidae) and implica¬tions of this ef¬fect on estimation of postmortem inter-vals using arthropod development pat-terns. J Forensic Sci. 36: 537–542.
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4. Kharbouche H, Augsburger M, Cherix D, Sporkert F, Giroud C, Wyss C, Champod C, Mangin P (2008) Codeine accumula-tion and elimination in larvae, pupae, and imago of the blowfly Lucilia sericata and effects on its development. Int J Legal Med. 122: 205–211.
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6. Verma K, Paul R (2013) Assessment of post mortem interval, (PMI) from foren¬sic en¬tomotoxicological studies of lar¬vae and flies. Entomol Ornithol Herpe¬tol. 2: 2161–0983.
7. Panenka WJ, Procyshyn RM, Lecomte T, MacEwan GW, Flynn SW, Honer WG, Barr AM (2013) Methamphetamine use: A comprehensive review of molecular, pre¬clinical and clinical findings. Drug Alco¬hol Depend. 129: 167–179.
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10. Xiong K, Liao H, Long L, Ding D, Huang J, Yan J (2016) Necroptosis contributes to methamphetamine-induced cytotoxi¬city in rat cortical neurons. Toxicol In Vitro. 35: 163–168.
11. Xiong K, Long L, Zhang X, Qu H, Deng H, Ding Y, Cai J, Wang S, Wang M, Liao L (2017) Overview of long non-coding RNA and mRNA expression in response to methamphetamine treatment in vitro. Toxicol In Vitro. 44: 1–10.
12. Merz F (2018) United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: World Drug Report 2017. SIRIUS-Z. für S. Analysen. 2: 85–86.
13. Goff ML, Brown WA, Omori A (1992) Preliminary observations of the effect of methamphetamine in decomposing tis¬sues on the development rate of Para-sarcophaga ruficornis (Diptera: Sar¬coph-agidae) and implications of this ef¬fect on the estimations of postmortem intervals. J Forensic Sci. 37: 867–872.
14. Mullany C, Keller PA, Nugraha AS, Wall-man JF (2014) Effects of metham¬pheta-mine and its primary human me¬tabolite, p-hydroxymethamphetamine, on the de¬vel-opment of the Australian blowfly Cal-liphora stygia. Forensic Sci Int. 241: 102–111.
15. Magni PA, Pazzi M, Vincenti M, Alladio E, Brandimarte M, Dadour IR (2014) De-velopment and validation of a GC–MS method for nicotine detection in Calli-phora vomitoria (L.) (Diptera: Calliphori-dae). Forensic Sci Int. 261: 53–60.
16. Wang Sh, Zhang C, Chen W, Ren L, Ling J, Shang Y, Guo Y (2019) Effects of Meth¬amphetamine on the Development and Its Determination in Aldrichina grahami (Diptera: Calliphoridae). J Med Entomol. 57(3): 691–696.
17. Zhang D, Liu X, Li X, Zhang M, Li K (2013) Antennal sensilla of the green bottle fly, Lucilia sericata (Meig¬en) (Diptera: Cal¬liphoridae). Parasi¬tol Res. 112: 3843–3850.
18. Bailey D and Shaw R (1989) Cocaine and methamphetamine related deaths in San Diego County (1987): homicides and ac-cidental overdoses. J Forensic Sci. 34: 407–422.
19. Chaturvedi AK, Cardona PS, Soper JW, Canfield DV (2004) Distribution and op-tical purity of methamphetamine found in toxic concentration in a civil aviation ac-cident pilot fatality. J Foren¬sic Sci. 49: 1–5.
20. Zhu GH, Ye GY, Hu C (2004) Develop-ment profile of hemolymph soluble pro-teins during the larval and pupal stages in Aldrichina grahami. J Zhejiang Univ (Agric Life Sci). 30: 69–72.
21. Bugelli V, Campobasso CP, Verhoff MA, Amendt J (2017) Effects of different stor¬age and measuring methods on larval length values for the blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Lucilia sericata and Calli-phora vicina. Sci Justice. 57(3): 159–164.
22. Day DM and Wallman JF (2006) Width as an alternative measurement to length for post-mortem interval estimations using Calliphora augur (Diptera: Calliphori¬dae) larvae. Forensic Sci Int. 159(2–3): 158–167.
23. Monthei DR (2009) Entomotoxicological and Thermal Factors Affecting the De¬vel-opment of Forensically Important Flies. [PhD dissertation]. Faculty of Virginia Pol¬ytechnic Institute and State University, USA.
24. Ekrakene T and Odo P (2017) Compara-tive developmental effects of tramadol hy¬drochloride and cypermethrin on Chrysomya albiceps (Weid.) (Diptera: Cal¬liphoridae) reared on rabbit carrions. Sci World J. 12(1): 28–32.
25. Goff ML, Brown WA, Omori A (1992) Preliminary observations of the effects of amitriptyline in decomposing tissues on the development of Parasarcophaga ru-ficornis (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) and im-plications of this effect to estimation of postmortem interval. J Forensic Sci. 38: 867–872.
26. Schepers RF, Oyler JM, Joseph Jr RE, Cone EJ, Moolchan ET, Huestis MA (2003) Methamphetamine and ampheta-mine pharmacokinetics in oral fluid and plasma after controlled oral metham¬phet-amine administration to humanvolun¬teers. Clin Chem. 44(1): 121–132.
27. Huestis MA, Cone EJ (2004) Metham-phetamine Disposition in oral fluid, plas-ma and urine. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1098: 104–121.
28. Sari SA, Muda NW, Mohamed Huri MA, Abdul Keyon AS, Azman AR, Mahat NA (2023) Analysis of poisons and drugs in entomological specimens for forensic ap¬plications: a review. Arab J Basic Appl Sci. 30(1): 401–428.
29. Introna F, Campobasso CP, Goff ML (2001) Entomotoxicology. Forensic Sci Int. 120 (1–2): 42–47.
30. Hecht L, Klotzbach H, Schröder H, Püschel K (2007) Einfluss von Methadon auf die Entwicklung von Lucilia sericata. Rechtsmedizin. 17(2): 83–88.
31. El-Samad LM, El-Moaty ZA, Makemer HM (2011) Effects of Tramadol on the development of Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and detection of the drug concentration in postmortem rabbit tis¬sues and larvae. J Entomol. 8: 353–364.
32. Kish SJ (2008) Review: pharmacologic mechanism of crystal meth. CMAJ. 178 (3): 1679– 1682.
2. Goff ML, Brown WA, Hewadikaram KA, Omori AI (1991) Effect of heroin in de-composing tissues on the develop¬ment rate of Boettcherisca peregrina (Diptera, Sar¬cophagidae) and implica¬tions of this ef¬fect on estimation of postmortem inter-vals using arthropod development pat-terns. J Forensic Sci. 36: 537–542.
3. George KA, Archer MS, Green LM, Conlan XA, Toop T (2009) Effect of morphine on the growth rate of Calli-phora stygia (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and possible im¬plications for forensic entomology. Fo¬rensic Sci Int. 193: 21–25.
4. Kharbouche H, Augsburger M, Cherix D, Sporkert F, Giroud C, Wyss C, Champod C, Mangin P (2008) Codeine accumula-tion and elimination in larvae, pupae, and imago of the blowfly Lucilia sericata and effects on its development. Int J Legal Med. 122: 205–211.
5. Bourel B, Hédouin V, Martin-Bouyer L, Bécart A, Tournel G, Deveaux M, Gosset D (1999) Effects of morphine in decom-posing bodies on the development of Lu-cilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphori¬dae). J Forensic Sci. 44: 354–358.
6. Verma K, Paul R (2013) Assessment of post mortem interval, (PMI) from foren¬sic en¬tomotoxicological studies of lar¬vae and flies. Entomol Ornithol Herpe¬tol. 2: 2161–0983.
7. Panenka WJ, Procyshyn RM, Lecomte T, MacEwan GW, Flynn SW, Honer WG, Barr AM (2013) Methamphetamine use: A comprehensive review of molecular, pre¬clinical and clinical findings. Drug Alco¬hol Depend. 129: 167–179.
8. Yang X, Wang Y, Li Q, Zhong Y, Chen L, Du Y, He J, Liao L, Xiong K, Yi C (2018) The main molecular mechanisms under¬lying methamphetamine induced neuro¬tox¬icity and implications for pharma¬co¬log¬ical treatment. Front Mol Neurosci. 11: 1–18
9. Won S, Hong RA, Shohet RV, Seto TB, Parikh NI (2013) Methamphetamine as-sociated cardiomyopathy. Clin Cardiol. 36: 737–742.
10. Xiong K, Liao H, Long L, Ding D, Huang J, Yan J (2016) Necroptosis contributes to methamphetamine-induced cytotoxi¬city in rat cortical neurons. Toxicol In Vitro. 35: 163–168.
11. Xiong K, Long L, Zhang X, Qu H, Deng H, Ding Y, Cai J, Wang S, Wang M, Liao L (2017) Overview of long non-coding RNA and mRNA expression in response to methamphetamine treatment in vitro. Toxicol In Vitro. 44: 1–10.
12. Merz F (2018) United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: World Drug Report 2017. SIRIUS-Z. für S. Analysen. 2: 85–86.
13. Goff ML, Brown WA, Omori A (1992) Preliminary observations of the effect of methamphetamine in decomposing tis¬sues on the development rate of Para-sarcophaga ruficornis (Diptera: Sar¬coph-agidae) and implications of this ef¬fect on the estimations of postmortem intervals. J Forensic Sci. 37: 867–872.
14. Mullany C, Keller PA, Nugraha AS, Wall-man JF (2014) Effects of metham¬pheta-mine and its primary human me¬tabolite, p-hydroxymethamphetamine, on the de¬vel-opment of the Australian blowfly Cal-liphora stygia. Forensic Sci Int. 241: 102–111.
15. Magni PA, Pazzi M, Vincenti M, Alladio E, Brandimarte M, Dadour IR (2014) De-velopment and validation of a GC–MS method for nicotine detection in Calli-phora vomitoria (L.) (Diptera: Calliphori-dae). Forensic Sci Int. 261: 53–60.
16. Wang Sh, Zhang C, Chen W, Ren L, Ling J, Shang Y, Guo Y (2019) Effects of Meth¬amphetamine on the Development and Its Determination in Aldrichina grahami (Diptera: Calliphoridae). J Med Entomol. 57(3): 691–696.
17. Zhang D, Liu X, Li X, Zhang M, Li K (2013) Antennal sensilla of the green bottle fly, Lucilia sericata (Meig¬en) (Diptera: Cal¬liphoridae). Parasi¬tol Res. 112: 3843–3850.
18. Bailey D and Shaw R (1989) Cocaine and methamphetamine related deaths in San Diego County (1987): homicides and ac-cidental overdoses. J Forensic Sci. 34: 407–422.
19. Chaturvedi AK, Cardona PS, Soper JW, Canfield DV (2004) Distribution and op-tical purity of methamphetamine found in toxic concentration in a civil aviation ac-cident pilot fatality. J Foren¬sic Sci. 49: 1–5.
20. Zhu GH, Ye GY, Hu C (2004) Develop-ment profile of hemolymph soluble pro-teins during the larval and pupal stages in Aldrichina grahami. J Zhejiang Univ (Agric Life Sci). 30: 69–72.
21. Bugelli V, Campobasso CP, Verhoff MA, Amendt J (2017) Effects of different stor¬age and measuring methods on larval length values for the blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Lucilia sericata and Calli-phora vicina. Sci Justice. 57(3): 159–164.
22. Day DM and Wallman JF (2006) Width as an alternative measurement to length for post-mortem interval estimations using Calliphora augur (Diptera: Calliphori¬dae) larvae. Forensic Sci Int. 159(2–3): 158–167.
23. Monthei DR (2009) Entomotoxicological and Thermal Factors Affecting the De¬vel-opment of Forensically Important Flies. [PhD dissertation]. Faculty of Virginia Pol¬ytechnic Institute and State University, USA.
24. Ekrakene T and Odo P (2017) Compara-tive developmental effects of tramadol hy¬drochloride and cypermethrin on Chrysomya albiceps (Weid.) (Diptera: Cal¬liphoridae) reared on rabbit carrions. Sci World J. 12(1): 28–32.
25. Goff ML, Brown WA, Omori A (1992) Preliminary observations of the effects of amitriptyline in decomposing tissues on the development of Parasarcophaga ru-ficornis (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) and im-plications of this effect to estimation of postmortem interval. J Forensic Sci. 38: 867–872.
26. Schepers RF, Oyler JM, Joseph Jr RE, Cone EJ, Moolchan ET, Huestis MA (2003) Methamphetamine and ampheta-mine pharmacokinetics in oral fluid and plasma after controlled oral metham¬phet-amine administration to humanvolun¬teers. Clin Chem. 44(1): 121–132.
27. Huestis MA, Cone EJ (2004) Metham-phetamine Disposition in oral fluid, plas-ma and urine. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1098: 104–121.
28. Sari SA, Muda NW, Mohamed Huri MA, Abdul Keyon AS, Azman AR, Mahat NA (2023) Analysis of poisons and drugs in entomological specimens for forensic ap¬plications: a review. Arab J Basic Appl Sci. 30(1): 401–428.
29. Introna F, Campobasso CP, Goff ML (2001) Entomotoxicology. Forensic Sci Int. 120 (1–2): 42–47.
30. Hecht L, Klotzbach H, Schröder H, Püschel K (2007) Einfluss von Methadon auf die Entwicklung von Lucilia sericata. Rechtsmedizin. 17(2): 83–88.
31. El-Samad LM, El-Moaty ZA, Makemer HM (2011) Effects of Tramadol on the development of Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and detection of the drug concentration in postmortem rabbit tis¬sues and larvae. J Entomol. 8: 353–364.
32. Kish SJ (2008) Review: pharmacologic mechanism of crystal meth. CMAJ. 178 (3): 1679– 1682.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 18 No 4 (2024) | |
| Section | Original Article | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/jad.v18i4.19341 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Entomotoxicology; Lucilia sericata; Methamphetamine; Post-mortem; Drug testing | ||
| Rights and permissions | |
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
How to Cite
1.
Parkhideh SZ, Forouzesh M, Akhgari M, Akbarzadeh K, Rahimi S, Rafizadeh S, Rassi Y. Impact of Methamphetamine on the Development of the Forensically Important Species Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae). J Arthropod Borne Dis. 2025;18(4):356–368.
