ESTIMATION OF CHRONOLOGICAL AGE USING THE ASPARTIC-ACID RACEMIZATION METHOD .1. ON HUMAN RIB CARTILAGE

Determinations of chronologic age are of great importance in forensic science. At present the aspartic acid racemization method on teeth pro vides one of the best means in adult individuals. However, if teeth ar e not available, some other stable tissue has to be used. In this stud y, the applicability of cartilage from the ribs has been tested. Speci mens of rib cartilage were obtained at autopsy from 24 individuals age d 0.2-96 years. An acid-soluble peptide (SP) fraction and an insoluble collagen-rich (IC) fraction were prepared, and the ratio of D/L aspar tic acid was determined using the HPLC technique. The correlation coef ficient between the D/L ratio and age was r = 0.91 in SP and r = 0.97 in IC. It thus seems as if cartilage from non-weight-bearing areas may be a useful source of tissue for the estimation of chronologic age wi th the aspartic acid racemization method when teeth are not available.