The detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) characteristic of decomposition is used in the identification of clandestine burial sites. Human, deer, pig, and dog decomposition have been studied. Over 470 VOCs have been identified, and about 30 of these compounds are markers for human decomposition. However, the VOCs from bovine decomposition have not been investigated. The objective of this project is to study the VOCs of bovine decomposition produced under anaerobic conditions in the absence of gut bacteria. Another goal of this research is to develop the methods for a new project that involves testing soil samples from burial sites at the Anthropology Research Facility in Tennessee.Composite samples of bovine muscle, liver, and marrow were prepared in triplicate and stored in sealed glass vials. The gasses in the headspace of each vial were sampled on a weekly basis and analyzed with gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). Seven standards chosen from the list of 30 compounds found in human decomposition were also analyzed. Significant peaks found in the spectra were recorded each week, along with the compounds found in each beef sample. Sixteen different compounds were detected over the course of seven weeks. To date, hexadecanoic acid and 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid were the only VOCs of the thirty markers of human decomposition that were found to have been produced through bovine decomposition. Hexadecanoic acid was the only compound whose presence in the beef samples could be confirmed, due to the use of hexadecanoic acid as one of the seven standards. Many of the compounds on the list of VOCs found in human decompositional events have low molecular weights. However, the majority of the compounds resolved in this experiment were heavy molecular weight compounds. Further research is being conducted testing the headspace of the beef samples on a monthly basis.

Volatile organic compounds from bovine decomposition

247th National Meeting (2014)

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