The mechanism of experimental adipocere formation: Substrate specificity on microbial production of hydroxy and oxo fatty acids

Adipocere: What is known after over two centuries of research

“…Experimental work was conducted on substrate specificity relating to the microbial production of hydroxy and oxo fatty acids [49] as well as hydration and dehydration factors [50].…”

Identification of a disinterred grave by molecular and stable isotope analysis

“…The high concentration of the C 18:1Δ9 fatty acid, in particular, is very characteristic of fresh mammalian fat indicating a surprisingly high level of preservation of organic matter in this soil. By comparison, the extracts obtained from A and C appear to have been afforded a lower level of preservation with the presence of relatively high concentrations of a monohydroxylated C 18:0 fatty acid presumably having arisen from the oxidation of the corresponding C 18:1Δ9 component generated during the transformation of adipose tissue to adipocere by bacteria [5,[10][11][12][13][14][15]38]. However, it should be noted that the concentration of monohydroxylated C 18:0 fatty acid observed in E is indicative of at least some adipocere formation in this soil.…”

“…The first, represented by soils A, C and E (Fig. 2a, c and e), is characterized predominantly by a narrow distribution of lipids largely comprising saturated fatty acids in the C 14 to C 18 carbon number range. Additionally, C 16 and C 18 monounsaturated analogues are observed as are diunsaturated, hydroxy and keto analogues of the C 18 fatty acid.…”

“…buried, submerged) the sodium and potassium ions may be displaced by calcium and magnesium ions thereby forming the insoluble, white, greasy substance commonly referred to as adipocere; this is the saponifcation theory of adipocere formation [5,6]. As early as 1875, Ebert recognized that adipocere also contained a hydroxy-fatty acid which subsequent studies have shown to be 10-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid, a microbially mediated hydration product of the oleic acid that is the major component of human adipose fat [5,[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15].…”

Decomposition of buried corpses, with special reference to the formation of adipocere

“…b-oxidation and hydration of the double bond of oleic acid leads to palmitic acid (Berg et al 1975), hydrogenation of the double bond first leads to hydroxy-stearic acid, and subsequent dehydrogenisation to oxo-stearic acid Yamaoka 1977a, 1977b;Takatori et al 1986Takatori et al , 1987Gotouda et al 1988). Both reactions lead to the elevation of the melting point of the metabolic products.…”