Fatal Case of a 27‐Year‐Old Male After Taking Iboga in Withdrawal Treatment: GC‐MS/MS Determination of Ibogaine and Ibogamine in Iboga Roots and Postmortem Biological Material |
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| Authors: | Cédric Mazoyer M.Sc. Jérémy Carlier M.Sc. Alexandra Boucher Pharm.D. Michel Péoc'h M.D. Ph.D. Catherine Lemeur Pharm.D. Yvan Gaillard Pharm.D. Ph.D. |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Laboratoire LAT LUMTOX, 800 av. Marie Curie, Z.I. Jean Jaurès, 07800 La Voulte‐sur‐Rh?ne, France;2. Additional information and reprint requests:;3. Jérémy Carlier, M.Sc.;4. Laboratoire LAT LUMTOX;5. 800 av. Marie Curie, Z.I. Jean Jaurès;6. 07800 La Voulte‐sur‐Rh?ne;7. France;8. E‐mail: j.carlier@latlumtox.com;9. Centre d'Evaluation et d'Information sur la Pharmacodépendance de Lyon, 162 av. Lacassagne, 69424 Lyon, France;10. Service de Médecine Légale, H?pital Bellevue, 25 bvd. Pasteur, 42055 Saint‐Etienne, France;11. Laboratoire LAT LUMTOX, 71 av. Rockefeller, 69003 Lyon, France |
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| Abstract: | We report the case of a man who died twelve hours after ingesting powdered iboga root, commonly taken for its stimulant and hallucinogenic properties. Ibogaine and ibogamine were quantified in the powder ingested and the victim's body fluids by GC‐MS/MS after liquid–liquid extraction (Toxi‐tubes A®). The concentrations of ibogaine measured in the blood samples taken at the scene and in the peripheral blood, urine, and gastric fluid samples taken during the autopsy were 0.65, 1.27, 1.7, and 53.5 μg/mL, while the iboga content in the powder was 7.2%. Moreover, systematic toxicological analyses of biological samples showed the presence of diazepam and methadone in therapeutic concentrations. Death was attributed to the ingestion of a substantial quantity of iboga in the context of simultaneous methadone and diazepam consumption. |
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| Keywords: | forensic science forensic toxicology
Tabernanthe iboga
ibogaine ibogamine gas chromatography– tandem mass spectrometry poisoning |
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