The effect of sulfur-metabolising bacteria on sulfur-containing psychotropic drugs

Eight bacterial species commonly found in postmortem specimens were assessed for their ability to degrade three sulfur-containing psychotropic drugs (chlorpromazine, thioridazine and dothiepin). The two species investigated (Proteus mirabilis and Clostridium perfringens) did not mediate degradation of the drugs when incubated individually over an 8-h period at 37°C in separate blood specimens containing each of the drugs. However, separate experiments demonstrated that degradation of these drugs did occur in decomposed blood and liver specimens. Such studies suggest that other bacteria or other factors may be responsible for drug decomposition.