NCJ Number
145901
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 38 Issue: 6 Dated: (November 1993) Pages: 1363-1371
Date Published
1993
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This paper describes a screening method that can distinguish bear gall bladders from the gall bladders of other animals and also differentiate between the gall bladders of farmed and wild bears.
Abstract
Asian civilizations have used bear gall bladders for medicinal purposes for centuries. They are used to reduce fever, to aid in "liver detoxification," and to reduce swelling and pain. The trade in gall bladders is such a lucrative business that the number of gall bladders found in the black market has increased dramatically. Currently, desiccated gall bladders are the most common form of international trafficking. High prices for bear gall bladders have stimulated an illegal international black market for bear gall bladders by individuals involved in criminal wildlife commercialization. The trade in bear parts has placed the Asiatic bears in danger of extinction, and the demand has now turned to North America. The strong demand for bear bile in China and Korea has led to the development of bear farms, where brown and black Asiatic bears are housed in small cages; their bile acids are removed daily through a catheter surgically implanted into their gall bladders. This study used fresh and desiccated gall bladders from bears obtained as criminal evidence. The investigators used thin layer chromatography and high pressure liquid chromatography to analyze the principal bilary components, mainly ursodeoxycholyl-taurine, cholyl- taurine, and chenodeoxycholyl-taurine. This bile acids profile is apparently an Ursidae family characteristic. Findings show that of the samples from Asia, only 3 percent were from the Ursidae family, and 18 percent were from "farmed bears." Samples seized in the United States showed that 22.6 percent and 85 percent respectively, were from Ursids. The remaining samples were consistent with bile from the domestic pig. These findings suggest the widespread substitution of pig gall bladders for those of bear and the fraudulent nature of the trade in gall bladders and bile salts. 2 tables, 3 figures, and 18 references