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oleandrigenin, and others. Preparations of oleander are used for cancer treat-
ment. Oleandrin, odoroside, neritaloside, and the aglycone oleandrigenin,
present in the extract of Nerium oleander (Anvirzel), were analyzed with
qTOF/MS. CID mass spectra were obtained with mass accuracy greater than
5 ppm. LOD for oleandrin was 20 pg injected. The method was applied for
the determination of oleander glycosides in human plasma after intramus-
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cular injection of Anvirzel. A 45-year-old female took Nerium oleander for
suicidal purposes, showing nausea, vomiting, cardiovascular shock, and sinus
bradycardia. Oleandrin was measured in plasma at 1.1 mg/l and was also
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identified in urine using ESI/LC/MS. Arao et al. applied SSI/LC/MS/MS
(ion trap) for determination of oleandrin, oleandrigenin, and desacetylole-
andrin in the heart, blood, and cerebrospinal fluid in the case of a fatal
suicidal poisoning of a 49-year-old woman who learned about oleander
toxicity on TV. Only oleandrin was found in concentrations of 9.8 and 10.1
mg/l in her heart, blood, and cerebrospinal fluid, respectively.
Capsaicinoids — capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, and nonivamide — occur
naturally in red pepper (Capsicum annuum). Due to its extremely irritative
properties, pepper spray is used in self-defense weapons, which are also
applied in criminal acts. Reilly et al. developed a LC/ESI/MS/MS procedure
for the determination of capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, and nonivamide in self-
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defense weapons and in blood and tissue of experimental animals. The
LOQ in the latter procedure was 1 mg/l.
Ricin is a toxic protein (mol. wt. over 60,000 Da) present in the seeds of
castor beans (Ricinus communis L). This compound has a history of murder-
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ous application and appeared in terrorist handbooks. Darby et al. analyzed
ricin and its marker ricinine in acetone extract of castor bean and in trypsin
hydrolysates. LC/UV, ESI/LC/MS, and MALDI/TOF/MS were applied. The
last technique gave the best results, both for intact ricin molecule and for
digested peptide fragments.
Colchicine, an alkaloid present in flowers of the autumn crocus (Colchi-
cum autumnale) has been used for centuries for the treatment of gout. Due
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to its toxicity, several fatal cases were reported. Tracqui et al. extracted
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colchicine from blood, plasma, or urine with dichlormethane at pH 8 and
determined with LC/ESI/MS in full scan and SIM mode. The LOD in SIM
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mode was 0.6 mg/l. Jones et al. detected colchicine in the biofluids and
organs of a 73-year-old man who died 18 h after receiving a 1 mg intravenous
dose of colchicine. He was treated with oral colchicine in previous days.
Dichloromethane extraction, followed by LC/ESI/MS, was applied. The con-
centrations found were 50 mg/l in cardiac blood, 575 mg/l in liver, and 12,000
mg/l in bile.
Maurer et al. determined a- and b-amanitine in the urine of patients
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intoxicated with Amanita mushrooms. The toxins were isolated with immu-

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