Objective: To observe the degradation of myoglobin in skeletal and cardiac muscles after death and to explore its usefulness in estimation of postmortem interval.
Methods: Human skeletal and cardiac muscles were collected at 0, 4, 8, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 hours after death and stored at 25 degrees C. The protein was extracted and examined and analyzed by Western blot and imaging technique.
Results: Myoglobin showed a continuously postmortem degradation in both skeletal and cardiac muscles. There was no observed difference in degradation between the two tissues.
Conclusion: Changes in myoglobin degradation could be a useful parameter for estimation of the postmortem interval.