Identification and detection of toxic substances involved in Gelsemium elegans Benth poisoning case

In this study, in response to a Gelsemium elegans Benth poisoning incident triggered by the consumption of homemade infused wine, the collected infused wine and the patient’s biological samples (blood and urine) were systematically examined using an integrated analytical strategy that combines UPLC-Q-TOF-MS non-targeted screening and UPLC-MS/MS targeted quantification. By constructing a database of Gelsemium elegans Benth alkaloid components, a total of nine major alkaloid components were identified, and a rapid quantitative analysis method was established for five of the key components (Gelsemine, Koumine, Gelsenicine, Gelsevirine, Humantenine). The results of the study showed that the content of Gelsemium elegans Benth alkaloids in infused wine was high, with Gelsenicine amounting to 60.87 µg/mL, which was estimated on the basis of its LD₅₀ (0.1–0.2 mg/kg bw) reported in the literature, and that an adult’s intake of 115–230 mL can be lethal. In the methodological validation, the spiked recoveries of infused wine and urine samples were 87.16%-105.53% with an RSD of < 7%, indicating that the method is accurate, reliable and does not require an internal standard, which makes it suitable for emergency testing in economically underdeveloped areas. In addition, Humantenine was detected in the urine of all poisoned individuals in this study, suggesting its potential as a potential marker for poisoning. Although the blood samples could not be quantified accurately due to matrix interference, the established coupling technology provides an effective analytical paradigm for the rapid identification and mechanism study of poisoning, and provides technical support for clinical diagnosis and public health emergency response.