Estimation of postmortem interval through albumin in CSF by simple dye binding method

•An attempt has been made to relate the PMI with the concentration of CSF albumin.•CSF is a dynamic body fluid, having several advantages over other body fluids.•BCG is a simple, precise, and cost-effective method for albumin determination.•An equation was formulated for estimation of PMI using CSF albumin.•A significant relationship between PMI and albumin concentration was found.

Estimation of postmortem interval is a very important question in some medicolegal investigations. For the precise estimation of postmortem interval, there is a need of a method which can give accurate estimation. Bromocresol green (BCG) is a simple dye binding method and widely used in routine practice. Application of this method in forensic practice may bring revolutionary changes. In this study, cerebrospinal fluid was aspirated from cisternal puncture from 100 autopsies. A study was carried out on concentration of albumin with respect to postmortem interval. After death, albumin present in CSF undergoes changes, after 72 h of death, concentration of albumin has become 0.012 mM, and this decrease was linear from 2 h to 72 h. An important relationship was found between albumin concentration and postmortem interval with an error of ± 1–4 h. The study concludes that CSF albumin can be a useful and significant parameter in estimation of postmortem interval.