Abstract：
Ergothioneine, which is a naturally occurring metabolite, generally accumulates in tissues and cells subjected to oxidative stress, owing to its structural stability at physiological pH; therefore, it has been attracting attention in various biomedical fields. Ergothioneine has also been suggested as a potential forensic marker, but its applicability has not yet been quantitatively validated. In this study, quantitative analysis of ergothioneine in bloodstains was conducted to estimate the age of bloodstains and that of bloodstain donors. Blood from youth and elderly participants was used to generate bloodstains. After extracting metabolites from the bloodstains under prevalent age conditions, ergothioneine levels were quantified by mass spectrometry via multiple reaction monitoring. The concentration of ergothioneine in day 0 bloodstains (fresh blood), was significantly higher in the elderly group than in the youth group, but it did not differ by sex. Statistically significant differences were observed between the samples from the two age groups on days 0, 5 and 7, and on days 2 and 3 compared with day 0. The findings suggest that ergothioneine can be used to estimate the age of bloodstains and of the donor; it could be useful as a potential marker in reconstructing crime scenes.
摘要：
麦角硫酮,这是一种天然存在的代谢物，通常在受到氧化应激的组织和细胞中积累，由于其在生理pH下的结构稳定性；因此，它已经在各个生物医学领域引起了人们的关注。麦角硫因也被认为是一种潜在的法医标记，但其适用性尚未得到定量验证。在这项研究中,进行了血迹中麦角硫因的定量分析，以估计血迹的年龄和血迹供体的年龄。年轻人和老年人的血液被用来产生血迹。在普遍年龄条件下从血迹中提取代谢物后，麦角硫因水平通过质谱通过多反应监测进行定量。第0天血迹（新鲜血液）中麦角硫因的浓度，老年组明显高于青年组，但它并没有因性别而异。在第0、5和7天以及第2和3天与第0天相比，在两个年龄组的样品之间观察到统计学上的显着差异。研究结果表明，麦角硫因可用于估计血迹和供体的年龄；它可能是重建犯罪现场的潜在标记。
