A comparative study of diazepam levels in bone marrow versus serum, saliva and brain tissue.

The distribution of diazepam in biological fluids and tissues of rats was examined 1, 2, 4 and 8 h after intraperitoneal administration by using a radioimmunoassay with specific anti-diazepam antibody. The diazepam levels in serum, saliva, brain and bone marrow decreased over a period of 2 h and levelled off 4 h after administration. The diazepam concentration in bone marrow was much higher than in serum, saliva and brain, suggesting an accumulation of diazepam in this tissue. This indicates that bone marrow could be a very useful material for the detection of diazepam in skeletonized remains. The diazepam concentrations in bone marrow, serum, saliva and brain showed a linear relationship (r = 0.860-0.997), indicating that a valid estimate of diazepam concentration in blood can be made from bone marrow samples.