Determination of ibogaine and noribogaine in biological fluids and hair by LC-MS/MS after Tabernanthe iboga abuse Iboga alkaloids distribution in a drowning death case.
Forensic science international March 21, 2008 Marjorie Chèze, Aurélie Lenoan, Marc Deveaux et al. 28 citations
A 37-year-old man was found dead on a beach in Gabon after consuming iboga, a plant from the Apocynaceae family. Autopsy showed drowning and a heart abnormality (myocardial bridging). Ibogaine and its metabolite noribogaine were detected in all autopsy samples—blood, urine, bile, gastric content, liver, lungs, vitreous, spleen, and hair—using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Hair analysis found 1.2 ng/mg of ibogaine and 2.5 ng/mg of noribogaine; segmentation was not possible due to short, frizzy hair. No other drugs or alcohol were present. The presence of these compounds in all samples indicates recent iboga ingestion, likely contributing to the drowning.