Modeling postmortem ethanol production by C. albicans: Experimental study and multivariate evaluation. (July 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Velivasi, Glykeria; Sakkas, Hercules; Kourkoumelis, Nikolaos; Boumba, Vassiliki A.
• Is Part Of: Forensic science international. Volume 324(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-07
• Subjects: Postmortem ethanol -- 1-propanol -- Higher alcohols -- Autopsy blood -- C. albicans -- Modeling; Medical jurisprudence -- Periodicals; Chemistry, Forensic -- Periodicals; Forensic Medicine -- Periodicals; Médecine légale -- Périodiques; Chimie légale -- Périodiques; Gerechtelijke geneeskunde; Gerechtelijke chemie; Gerechtelijke psychiatrie; Chemistry, Forensic; Medical jurisprudence; Electronic journals; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 614.1
• DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2021.110809
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0379-0738

Abstract

Highlights: Ethanol production by C. albicans depends on the temperature, time, medium's pH. A high glucose medium favors ethanol and higher alcohols formation by C. albicans . Methyl-butanol is the most significant indicator of fungal ethanol modeling. Isobutanol and 1-propanol are equally important indicators to methyl -butanol. C.albicans' models apply when ethanol is produced in blood with elevated glucose. Abstract: In previous research, we modeled the ethanol production by certain bacteria under controlled experimental conditions in an attempt to quantify the production of microbial postmortem ethanol in cases where other alcohols were co-detected. This contribution on the modeling of postmortem ethanol production by C andida albicans is complementary to these previous studies. Τhis work aimed to study ethanol, higher alcohols (1-propanol, isobutanol, 2-methyl-1-butanol and 3-methyl-1-butanol), and 1-butanol production by Candida albicans : (i) in different culture media (Brain Heart Infusion, BHI and, Sabouraud Dextrose Broth, SDB), (ii) under mixed aerobic/anaerobic or strict anaerobic conditions, and (iii) at different temperatures (37 °C, 25 °C and, 4 °C), and develop simple mathematical models, resulted from fungal cultures at 25 °C, to predict the microbially produced ethanol in correlation with the other alcohols. The applicability of the models was tested in the C. albicans cultures in BHI and SDB media at 37 °C, in denatured human blood at 25 °C, acidic and neutral with different concentrations of additional glucose, in acidic denatured blood diluted with dextrose solution and in blood from autopsy cases. The received results indicated that the C. albicans models could apply in cases where yeasts have been activated in blood with elevated glucose levels. Overall, the in vitro ethanol production by C. albicans in blood depended on temperature, time, glucose (or carbohydrate) content, pH of the medium and endogenous changes in the medium composition through time. Our results showed that methyl-butanol is the most significant indicator of fungal ethanol production, followed by the equally important isobutanol and 1-propanol in qualitative and quantitative terms.