Identification of rhinoceros keratin using direct analysis in real time time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry and multivariate statistical analysis

Price, Erin; McClure, Pamela J.; Jacobs, Rachel L.; Espinoza, Edgard O.

doi:10.1002/rcm.8285

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Surprisingly, this data demonstrates that the keratin chemotypes can be used to differentiate species within a closely related taxonomic group, although we recognize that this phenomenon may not occur within other taxonomic groups 33 . Given the nature of hair and fleece keratin, we speculate that the species distinguishing signal is either environmental (diet), genetic, or both.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…DART‐TOFMS can capture the small molecule profile of a sample, reflecting both similarities and differences according to chemotype 30 . DART‐TOFMS has had extensive use in forensic science including drug analysis 31 and identification of trafficked species of flora and fauna 30,32,33 . Recently, DART‐TOFMS was successfully used to distinguish rhinoceros horn from the hoofs of horse and cattle, which are fraudulently found in trade, 33 offering optimism that DART‐TOFMS could be used to classify the fleece fibers of South American camelids.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Forensic identification of the keratin fibers of South American camelids by ambient ionization mass spectrometry: Vicuña, alpaca and guanaco

Price

Larrabure

Gonzales

et al. 2020

Rapid Comm Mass Spectrometry

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Rationale The keratin fleece of the endangered vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) commands a high value in international markets, and this trade has caused illegal poaching and a substantial decrease in vicuña populations. Morphological analysis of hairs does not have the resolution to determine the species of origin of camelid natural fibers. In addition, commerce in camelid fleece also includes the legal trade of alpaca (Vicugna pacos) and guanaco (Lama guanicoe) wool. Methods The keratin fiber spectra of vicuña (n = 19), guanaco (n = 20) and alpaca (n = 20) were collected using X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry, Horizontal attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (HATR‐FTIR) spectroscopy and direct analysis in real time time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (DART‐TOFMS). Analysis with each technique evaluated the data to determine if the three taxa could be separated using either descriptive or multivariate statistics. Results XRF analysis showed that the elements detected and their relative concentrations were similar in all three species, whereas HATR‐FTIR analysis could identify alpaca fleece but could not differentiate vicuña from guanaco. Ions detected by ambient ionization using DART‐TOFMS, in either positive‐ or negative‐ion mode, gave the best results and showed that each taxonomic group is distinctive. Multivariate analysis of the mass spectra created robust models which resolved each species (LOOCV = 99.9%). The analyses of eight validation samples were correctly assigned to the appropriate species and demonstrated the reliability of DART‐TOFMS to infer taxonomic source. Conclusions The DART‐TOFMS spectra of unmodified keratin fibers infer that the chemotype of each species is heavily influenced by fatty acids, cholesterol and its analogs, and that these ions are useful in separating the fleece of vicuña, alpaca and guanaco. We posit that the etiological source of these chemotype differences is consistent with genetic modulations and is less influenced by diet. Accurate taxonomic identification of fleece is important to identify violations and assists in the protection of rare species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forensic identification of the keratin fibers of South American camelids by ambient ionization mass spectrometry: Vicuña, alpaca and guanaco

Price

Larrabure

Gonzales

et al. 2020

Rapid Comm Mass Spectrometry

Self Cite

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“…The DART source parameters and mass spectrometer settings follow Price, McClure, Jacobs and Espinoza, (2018). Described compounds were then ionized by protonation and eventually detected in the TOFMS.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A capillary tube was dipped in the solution and then held in the heated gas stream of helium. The DART source parameters and mass spectrometer settings follow Price, McClure, Jacobs and Espinoza, (2018). Each pangolin scale spectrum was probed for tramadol and tramadol HCl within a 15 mmu window and a threshold of 5% of the base peak using Mass Mountaineer software (RBC Software, Peabody, Massachusetts).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Myth debunked: Keratinous pangolin scales do not contain the analgesic tramadol

Jacobs

McClure

Baker

et al. 2019

Conservat Sci and Prac

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Conservation plans aiming to reduce the threat of illegal wildlife trade increasingly recognize the need for multifaceted approaches that include both enhanced enforcement and demand reduction initiatives. Both are complex issues that involve understanding consumer motives. Pangolins represent some of the most heavily trafficked species, largely due to high consumer demand for their scales for use in traditional medicines. Recent media reports also suggest that demand is related to the purported presence of the analgesic tramadol in scales. We examined chemotypes of scales from 104 individual pangolins representing all extant species. None of the specimens demonstrated the presence of tramadol. Given that demand for pangolins and their parts is decimating wild populations, it is imperative that such false claims be rectified. These results could be incorporated into demand reduction campaigns in areas where this misinformation is perpetuated. K E Y W O R D S

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“…DART is increasingly employed in law enforcement, however, usage is not yet prevalent in wildlife forensics and wildlife crime detection. Nevertheless, it has been used to identify and differentiate between timber species in trade (Cody et al 2012;Lancaster et al 2012;Espinoza et al 2014) and to identify rhinoceros horn (Price et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

DART mass spectrometry as a potential tool for the differentiation of captive-bred and wild lion bones

et al. 2021

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In recent years lion bones have been legally traded internationally to Asian markets from captive-bred sources in South Africa. There are also indications of increasing instances of illegal international trade in wild lion bones. The existence of parallel captive and wild supplies of lion bone are a cause of law enforcement concern regarding the potential for the laundering of illegally sourced bones through legal trade, and present a problem for the assessment of the conservation impact of wild lion bone trade due to the difficulty of determining what market-share wild and captive-bred lion bones account for. Captive-bred and wild lion bone are visually indistinguishable and no reliable method currently exists for distinguishing them. We present a preliminary study that explores the use of DART mass spectrometry as a method to differentiate between captive-bred and wild lion bones. We find that DART is able to differentiate between a batch of captive-bred South African lion bone and a batch of wild lion bone and suggest that DART mass spectrometry shows strong potential as a tool for the regulation and investigation of lion bone trade. Further testing is needed to prove the suitability of this technique. Therefore, we suggest that further research focuses on testing the capability of DART to differentiate between contemporary wild and captive-bred lion bone originating from South Africa, and attempts to identify chemical markers in bone that can be used as indicators of captive-bred origin.

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Identification of rhinoceros keratin using direct analysis in real time time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry and multivariate statistical analysis

Cited by 14 publications

References 20 publications

Forensic identification of the keratin fibers of South American camelids by ambient ionization mass spectrometry: Vicuña, alpaca and guanaco

Forensic identification of the keratin fibers of South American camelids by ambient ionization mass spectrometry: Vicuña, alpaca and guanaco

Myth debunked: Keratinous pangolin scales do not contain the analgesic tramadol

DART mass spectrometry as a potential tool for the differentiation of captive-bred and wild lion bones

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