Exploring the impact of xenobiotic drugs on forensic entomology for accurate post-mortem interval estimation

Forensic entomotoxicology is an emerging field within forensic entomology that investigates the effects of chemicals, drugs, and toxins on insect development and their implications for postmortem interval (PMI) estimation. This systematic overview delves into the influence of drugs such as Morphine,...

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Main Authors: Sapna Jain, Jonathan J. Parrott, Gulnaz T. Javan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-01-01
Series:Frontiers in Insect Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/finsc.2024.1411342/full
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author Sapna Jain
Jonathan J. Parrott
Gulnaz T. Javan
author_facet Sapna Jain
Jonathan J. Parrott
Gulnaz T. Javan
author_sort Sapna Jain
collection DOAJ
description Forensic entomotoxicology is an emerging field within forensic entomology that investigates the effects of chemicals, drugs, and toxins on insect development and their implications for postmortem interval (PMI) estimation. This systematic overview delves into the influence of drugs such as Morphine, heroin, Opiates, and cocaine on the variables affecting the use of forensically significant insects as evidence tools. Notably, it has been observed that the presence of drugs does not appear to alter the progression of the lifecycle from the first instar to the emergence of flies, indicating that PMI estimations based on fly emergence remain unaffected by drugs. However, larvae treated with drugs frequently show delayed pupation, suggesting the need for further research into the impact of different compounds on various insect species over more extended observation periods. Additionally, conflicting results have been noted regarding how toxins can influence the developmental process in larvae, underscoring the necessity to assess the effect of different classes of compounds on other insect species. The study also recommends exploring factors such as the samples’ collection site and the drugs’ pathological implications to inspire future research. Furthermore, the paper underscores the potential for varying drug effects across insect species, emphasizing the complexity of interpreting drug impacts on PMI estimations. This systematic review was conducted by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.
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spelling doaj-art-46fb2f8d0b214561b732cda5b67f09242025-01-28T06:40:57ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Insect Science2673-86002025-01-01410.3389/finsc.2024.14113421411342Exploring the impact of xenobiotic drugs on forensic entomology for accurate post-mortem interval estimationSapna Jain0Jonathan J. Parrott1Gulnaz T. Javan2Department of Physical and Forensic Sciences, Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL, United StatesSchool of Interdisciplinary Forensics, Arizona State University, Glendale, AZ, United StatesDepartment of Physical and Forensic Sciences, Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL, United StatesForensic entomotoxicology is an emerging field within forensic entomology that investigates the effects of chemicals, drugs, and toxins on insect development and their implications for postmortem interval (PMI) estimation. This systematic overview delves into the influence of drugs such as Morphine, heroin, Opiates, and cocaine on the variables affecting the use of forensically significant insects as evidence tools. Notably, it has been observed that the presence of drugs does not appear to alter the progression of the lifecycle from the first instar to the emergence of flies, indicating that PMI estimations based on fly emergence remain unaffected by drugs. However, larvae treated with drugs frequently show delayed pupation, suggesting the need for further research into the impact of different compounds on various insect species over more extended observation periods. Additionally, conflicting results have been noted regarding how toxins can influence the developmental process in larvae, underscoring the necessity to assess the effect of different classes of compounds on other insect species. The study also recommends exploring factors such as the samples’ collection site and the drugs’ pathological implications to inspire future research. Furthermore, the paper underscores the potential for varying drug effects across insect species, emphasizing the complexity of interpreting drug impacts on PMI estimations. This systematic review was conducted by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/finsc.2024.1411342/fullentomotoxicologyPMI estimationxenobiotic drugssubstance abusedrug overdose
spellingShingle Sapna Jain
Jonathan J. Parrott
Gulnaz T. Javan
Exploring the impact of xenobiotic drugs on forensic entomology for accurate post-mortem interval estimation
Frontiers in Insect Science
entomotoxicology
PMI estimation
xenobiotic drugs
substance abuse
drug overdose
title Exploring the impact of xenobiotic drugs on forensic entomology for accurate post-mortem interval estimation
title_full Exploring the impact of xenobiotic drugs on forensic entomology for accurate post-mortem interval estimation
title_fullStr Exploring the impact of xenobiotic drugs on forensic entomology for accurate post-mortem interval estimation
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the impact of xenobiotic drugs on forensic entomology for accurate post-mortem interval estimation
title_short Exploring the impact of xenobiotic drugs on forensic entomology for accurate post-mortem interval estimation
title_sort exploring the impact of xenobiotic drugs on forensic entomology for accurate post mortem interval estimation
topic entomotoxicology
PMI estimation
xenobiotic drugs
substance abuse
drug overdose
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/finsc.2024.1411342/full
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AT jonathanjparrott exploringtheimpactofxenobioticdrugsonforensicentomologyforaccuratepostmortemintervalestimation
AT gulnaztjavan exploringtheimpactofxenobioticdrugsonforensicentomologyforaccuratepostmortemintervalestimation