The current macroscopical and microscopical signs in the fresh drowning victim are non-specific. Moreover, putrefaction will vanish these autopsy findings quite rapidly. The study of additional detecting methods to diagnose drowning has become one of the hottest topics in forensic medicine. This article reviewed several methods commonly used in the determination of drowning in forensic practice. The advantages and disadvantages of various methods were also discussed.
Chlorophyll/isolation & purification* ; Chlorophyll A ; Diatoms/isolation & purification* ; Drowning/diagnosis* ; Forensic Medicine ; Humans ; Lung/chemistry*

OBJECTIVETo study the active constituents from Alternanthera philoxeroides.

METHODThe constituents were isolated with silica gel and Toyopearl HW-40C gel column chromatography and purified by HPLC. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopy.

RESULTNine compounds were isolated and identified as phaeophytin a (1), pheophytin a' (2), oleanoic acid (3), beta-sitosterol (4), 3beta-hydroxystigmast-5-en-7-one (5), alpha-spinasterol (6), 24-methylenecycloartanol (7), cycloeucalenol (8), phytol (9).

CONCLUSIONCompounds 1,2,5,7-9 were isolated from this plant for the first time.

Amaranthaceae ; chemistry ; Chlorophyll ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Phytol ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Phytosterols ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; Plant Stems ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry

Animal ; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic/isolation & purification/*pharmacology ; Chlorophyll/*analogs & derivatives/isolation & purification/pharmacology/radiation effects ; Comparative Study ; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor ; Feces/*chemistry ; Hematoporphyrin Derivative ; Hematoporphyrins/pharmacology ; Human ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear/drug effects ; Mice ; Oxygen/metabolism ; Photochemistry ; Photochemotherapy ; Radiation-Sensitizing Agents/isolation & purification/*pharmacology ; Silkworms/*metabolism ; Singlet Oxygen ; Spectrophotometry ; Structure-Activity Relationship ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Tumor Cells, Cultured/*drug effects/radiation effects