3. Presumptive assays
Urea
• DMAC Assay (colorimetric and florimetric)
• Microscopic crystal assay
• Urease assay
• Chromatography GC-MS, Thin layer
chromatography
Creatinine
• Colorimetric assay Jaffe test
• Chromatographic assay GC-MS
Uric acid
• Uricase assay
Confirmatory
assay
• Tamm-Horsfall
glycoprotein
• 17-ketosteriods
*Other bodily fluids, such as sweat, also contain these chemical components
4. Urine
• UV examination - Urine stains fluoresce as
yellow/pale blue in UV light.
• Flame test - On heating gently over a flame, the
characteristic odour of urine may be detected.
6. Urine Microcrystal test
• Urea Nitrate Crystal test - An aqueous
extract of the stain when reacted with
one drop of conc. Nitric acid on a slide
forms hexagonal urea nitrate crystals.
7. Urease activity
The ammonia is detected using an acid-base indicator, bromthymol blue, which
exhibits a blue color. Alternatively, the ammonia can be detected by manganese
and silver nitrates, which exhibit a black color.
8. • Creatinine test (Modified Jaffe’s test) – One drop of picric acid is added to stain
followed by 5% Sodium hydroxide – Brown/orange color shows presence of
creatinine.
9. Measuring the disappearance of the absorption of
uric acid at 293 nm after treatment with uricase that
catalyzes the oxidation of uric acid to 5-
hydroxyisourate
10. Confirmatory test for Urine
RSID™-Urine is a lateral flow immunochromatographic strip test
designed to detect the presence of the TammHorsfall (THP)
glycoprotein (sometimes called uromodulin).
Tamm-Horsfall is the most abundant protein present in urine. It is
secreted by the thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle, and
then excreted into urine at a rate of 80-200 mg/day
RSID™-Urine is specific for urine and does not crossreact with any
other human bodily fluids.
11. Confirmatory test for Urine :
17-Ketosteroids using LC-MS
metabolite of
testosterone and
dihydrotestosterone
endogenous steroid hormone
precursor
metabolite of testosterone
12. Fecal Matter
• Sodomy
• assault with fecal matter
• Vandalism
• burglary during which the perpetrator defecated at the scene
13. Human feces contain undigested foodstuffs, sloughed intestinal epithelial
cells, intestinal bacteria, bile pigments, electrolytes, and water.
15. The normal brown color of feces primarily results from the
presence of urobilinoids, which are heme catabolic by-products.
The characteristic odor of feces is caused by the metabolic by-
products of the intestinal bacterial flora. Indole, skatole, and
hydrogen sulfide are the compounds that are responsible for the
odor of feces
Feces Macroscopic examination
16. Feces Microscopic examination
• Fecal matter can be transferred from samples of clothing by
scraping with a sterile stainless steel spatula. The fecal matter is
then hydrated in 6% formalin solution for 1-2 days prior to
microscopic examination.
• A small of amount of stain scraping is mounted on a slide with a
drop of Lugol’s Iodine and observed microscopically for
undigested vegetative matter, muscle fibres, etc
• The presence of characteristic undigested foodstuffs can indicate
human feces.
18. Schlesinger and Edelman tests
Schlesinger test
Sample
+
saturated zinc acetate
(1% zinc acetate methoxyethanol solution and
0.2% Tris)
urobilinoid– zinc chelation complex
(green fluorescence under UV at 507
and 514 nm)
Edelman test
Sample
+
mercuric salt solution
a pink-colored compound
+
Zinc Salt
(fluorescence under UV)
sonicated for 5 min, heated at 100°C
for 10 min, cooled, and centrifuged
Limitation: ST vs. ET
Low Species specificity
20. Fecal Bacterial Identification
30% of fecal microbiota comprises of Bacteroides (rod-shaped,
anaerobic gram-negative bacteria that digests complex
carbohydrates and other substances that cannot be digested by
human enzymes.)
B. uniformis
is not detectable in blood, saliva, semen, urine, vaginal
fluids, or on skin surfaces.
considered as a specific indicator bacterium for forensic
fecal identification.
B. vulgatus c
an also be detected in vaginal fluid samples
Limitations:
Species non specific
DIET dependent (Bacteriods rich in
saturated fats and protein rich diet )
24. Confirmatory assay for dermcidin
• a class of human antimicrobial peptides of the
innate immune defense system and plays an
important role in protecting epithelial barriers
from infections.
• expressed in eccrine sweat glands
• The detection can be performed using ELISA assays
utilizing antibodies specific to human dermcidin.
(highly sensitive for 10,000-fold dilution).
• Dermcidin is encoded by the DCD gene. Its mRNA
can be detected using reverse transcription
polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays
25.
26. Tear
Basal
Tears
Coats the
superficial layer
of eye
Reflex
Tears
Secreted in
response to
external stimuli
Psychic
Tears
Secreted due to
emotional and
cognitive
It is made up of water, electrolytes,
proteins and mucins. The ratio of each
component varies at different intervals in
the human body.
27. Tear • Tests for tears
• Lactoferrin is the target molecule.
• Lactoferrin (LF), also known as lactotransferrin (LTF),
is a multifunctional protein of the transferrin family.
Lactoferrin is a globular glycoprotein with a
molecular mass of about 80 kDa
• Specific testing kits with patented tech are available
for testing for Lactoferrin.
28.
29. Milk • Milk (Lactation) is a nutrient-rich liquid secreted by the
mammary glands (breasts) of women to nourish their
offspring (child).
• The chief function of milk secretion is to provide nutrition. It
also provides immunity, emotional connection etc.
• Milk contains nutrients, proteins and lactose.
• The first milk produced after childbirth is known as
colostrum and contains antibodies in addition to the
above.
• Human milk and animal milk differs in certain means – PUFA
lipoproteins and Vitamin D are present in human milk and
absent in animal milk.
30. Milk
• Tests for milk
• Lactose is a target molecule – Reagent test kits
• Vitamin D, LDLs can also be looked for using
biochemical analysis.
Editor's Notes
In the colorimetric method, a portion of a stain (~1 cm2 ) is cut and is extracted with 1 mL of distilled water. The extraction is transferred onto a piece of filter paper and is allowed to dry. One drop of 0.1% DMAC solution is then added to the filter paper. DMAC reacts specifically with urea, if present, producing a pink-colored (or magenta-colored) product. DMAC does not react with creatinine, ammonia, or uric acid. The appearance of a pink color within 30 min after applying the DMAC reagent is considered a positive reaction. No color change within 30 min.
Limitation:
However, this method is not specific to urine, as other bodily fluids such as saliva, semen, sweat, and vaginal secretions can also give positive reactions.
A diluted DMAC solution, from 0.1% to 0.05%, can maintain appropriate sensitivity to urine stains and minimize false-positive reactions caused by the detection of low levels of urea that are present in other bodily fluids.
Tamm–Horsfall protein (THP), also known as uromodulin, is the most abundant protein in urine, and accounts for 40% of the urine proteins. THP is exclusively synthesized in the epithelial cells of Henle’s loop.
Under physiological conditions, an adult excretes 20–100 mg of THP into urine daily.
The biological function of THP is not fully understood. It is speculated that it prevents the body from contracting urinary tract infections and from forming renal stones.
17-ketosteroids are substances that form when the body breaks down male steroid sex hormones.
Androsterone, is an endogenous steroid hormone, neurosteroid, and putative pheromone. It is a weak androgen with a potency that is approximately 1/7 that of testosterone. Androsterone is a metabolite of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone.
Dehydroepiandrosterone, also known as androstenolone, is an endogenous steroid hormone precursor. It is one of the most abundant circulating steroids in humans. DHEA is produced in the adrenal glands, the gonads, and the brain
Etiocholanolone is produced from the metabolism of testosterone.
Indole is an aromatic heterocyclic organic compound with the formula C₈H₇N. It has a bicyclic structure, consisting of a six-membered benzene ring fused to a five-membered pyrrole ring. Indole is widely distributed in the natural environment and can be produced by a variety of bacteria.
Skatole or 3-methylindole is an organic compound belonging to the indole family. It occurs naturally in the feces of mammals and birds and is the primary contributor to fecal odor.
Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula H ₂S. It is a colorless chalcogen-hydride gas, and is poisonous, corrosive, and flammable, with trace amounts in ambient atmosphere having a characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs.
The formation of urobilinoids.
Aged erythrocytes are disposed in the spleen, releasing hemoglobin that is broken down to heme.
The heme is converted to biliverdin and is subsequently reduced to bilirubin.
The bilirubin is then released into the bloodstream where it is bound to albumin, which cannot be filtrated at the glomeruli.
The bilirubin is transported through the bloodstream to the liver where it is conjugated with glucuronic acid, forming water-soluble bilirubin monoglucuronide and diglucuronide.
The bilirubin glucuronides are excreted into the bile and are subsequently excreted into the small intestine.
In the intestines, the glucuronic acid of the conjugated bilirubin is removed. The unconjugated bilirubin is metabolized by intestinal bacteria, forming urobilinogen.
A portion of the urobilinogen is further metabolized to stercobilinogen.
The urobilinogen and the stercobilinogen are oxidized by intestinal bacteria, forming urobilin and stercobilin, respectively, which are excreted into the feces.
In the Schlesinger test, a sample is mixed with saturated zinc acetate in ethanol solution to form a urobilinoid– zinc chelation complex that emits a characteristic green fluorescence under ultraviolet light.
The Edelman test is a variation of the Schlesinger test. A sample is treated with a mercuric salt solution to yield a pink-colored compound. Further treatment with a zinc salt produces fluorescence. However, less fluorescence is observed in the Edelman test than in the Schlesinger test. Inconclusive and inconsistent results are often obtained using these tests where fecal material sometimes gives no visible fluorescence. Additionally, the intensity of the fluorescence observed varies between samples. The reliability and selectivity of the tests can be increased using a spectrometric measurement of the fluorescence detection of fecal urobilinoids based on the principle of the Schlesinger test. A dry sample is treated with 1 mL of zinc acetate solution (1% zinc acetate methoxyethanol solution and 0.2% Tris). The suspension is then sonicated for 5 min, heated at 100°C for 10 min, cooled, and centrifuged. The presence of urobilinoids can be detected using excitation and emission maxima at 507 and 514 nm, respectively.
The disadvantages of the Schlesinger and the Edelman tests are their low species specificity as both tests cannot distinguish between human and other mammalian fecal materials.
The identification of bacteroides can be carried out by detecting specific DNA sequences of the rpoB gene, which encodes the β subunit of bacterial RNA polymerase
Two fecal predominant bacteroides species, B. uniformis and B. vulgatus, can be detected in feces. B. uniformis is not detectable in blood, saliva, semen, urine, vaginal fluids, or on skin surfaces. Therefore, B. uniformis is considered as a specific indicator bacterium for forensic fecal identification. Sometimes, B. vulgatus can also be detected in vaginal fluid samples. Therefore, precaution should be taken in interpreting the results obtained using a B. vulgatus assay.
Additionally, this method alone cannot discriminate between human and animal feces. Furthermore, fecal microbial populations can be affected by the host’s diet. Individuals who consume saturated fats and proteins, which are abundant in Western diets, have predominantly Bacteroides species in their feces. However, individuals who consume a low-fat and carbohydrate-rich diet have predominantly Prevotella species, also a genus of gram-negative bacteria, in their feces