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PubMed1987

Shellfish and fish poisoning related to the toxic dinoflagellates.

At least four different species of the toxic dinoflagellates cause shellfish and fish poisoning in the United States: Ptychodiscus brevis, neurotoxic shellfish poisoning; Protogonyaulax catenella and P tamarensis, paralytic shellfish poisoning; and Gambierdiscus toxicus, ciguatera fish poisoning. These three disorders have similar clinical manifestations, primarily neurologic and alimentary. A complete history is essential; confirmation, while dependent on specific laboratory analysis, is usually based on a history of ingestion of fish or shellfish previously associated with these types of poisonings. The principal toxins affect sodium channels; Ptychodiscus brevis toxins and ciguatoxin by stimulating these channels and saxitoxin by blocking them. Since no antidote is known, treatment is symptomatic. Public health measures and public education are necessary to prevent this form of poisoning.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Poisonings: food, fish, shellfish.

Not every traveler who gets sick away from home has an infection; some are poisoned. This article describes common and dangerous illnesses caused by food-borne toxins. It explores the toxic illnesses acquired from fish or seafood, including scombroid, ciguatera, pufferfish toxicity, and a variety of shellfish poisonings. It also provides a brief overview of plant toxicity. Although gastroenteritis is a common feature of many food poisonings, this article emphasizes those processes associated with neurologic manifestations, as they tend to be more dangerous to patients and less well understood by physicians. It also stresses strategies to prevent food poisoning.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[A new pathophysiological explanation of ciguaterra (author's transl)].

After pointing out clinical, biochemical and biological similarities between paralytic shellfish poisoning and ciguaterra fish poisoning, the authors describe their recent discoveries in regard to ciguaterra origin. The causal agent searched without results since many years, might be a dinoflagellate, of the genus Diplopsalis.

Ciguatera Poisoning↗
PubMed1999

Comparison between HPLC and a commercial immunoassay kit for detection of okadaic acid and esters in Portuguese bivalves.

Liquid chromatography (HPLC), used to identify diarrhoeic shellfish poisoning (DSP) toxins in Portuguese shellfish, has detected okadaic acid (OA), dinophysistoxin-2 (DTX2) and esters of both of these. In Donax clams, a surprisingly high level of esters has been recently associated with some outbreaks of diarrhoea in shellfish consumers. In view of these events, we have proposed that screening for esters must be included in monitoring programmes for DSP toxins. HPLC is laborious, time-consuming and suffers from some interferences at low detection levels in total meat extracts. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on the procedure of Usagawa et al. ('DSP-Check' kit) was tested against HPLC. The 'DSP-Check' kit was capable of quantitatively detecting DSP toxins in all the tested contaminated samples containing only okadaic acid, provided that the parent toxins were within the range of detection and were not in the ester form. A high correlation was observed between the two methods when appropriate dilutions were performed. The immunoassay kit tested appeared to be more sensitive, specific and faster than HPLC for determination of DSP in total shellfish meat extracts. No problems were found when using hydrolysed semi-purified extracts in order to detect esters of okadaic acid. In view of the results obtained so far, Donax clams appeared to be an excellent indicator of shellfish contamination with diarrhoeic toxins. On sandy beaches of the Portuguese southern coast, were rock mussels are not so abundant, they should be screened more often than other species in order to prevent diarrhoea in humans.

Calibration↗
PubMed1991

Poisonous marine morsels.

Consumption of seafood is increasing and physicians should know more about ichthyosarcotoxism, or fish-flesh poisoning. It appears in a variety of forms: poisoning, ciguatera, tetrodotoxin and scombroid poisoning. Ingestion of certain marine turtles and mammals also has been incriminated as the cause of illness. Paralytic shellfish poisoning can be deadly. In addition, red tide may cause respiratory problems.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Poisoning by paralytic molluscan toxins in Oaxaca].

Toxic Red Tides are caused by marine dinoflagellates which synthesize neurotoxins that accumulate in bivalve mollusks. Upon ingestion, these shellfish can cause paralysis and death. During the month of December, 1989, 99 cases of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning in the areas of Salina Cruz and Huatulco, Oaxaca, were reported; three of which died. The majority of the cases involved the ingestion of oysters and clams. A short time later, the Red Tide was reported appearing. One hundred and fifteen seafood samples were analyzed through a biologic test in mice to determine the quantity of saxitoxin. Oysters and clams showed levels reaching 4 000 U.R. Laboratory analysis of seawater found very high quantities of Gimnodinium catenatum and Gonyaulax catenella. The control measures consisted of the prohibition of the harvest and sale of all bivalve mollusks as well as a public warning to avoid the consumption of such shellfish.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Oliva vidua fulminans, a marine mollusc, responsible for five fatal cases of neurotoxic food poisoning in Sabah, Malaysia.

This is the first report in which a marine mollusc, Oliva vidua fulminans (olives), generally not known to be poisonous, was responsible for death in five children after consuming boiled olives with tamarind. The onset of symptoms was rapid 10 to 20 min after consumption of the olives. Signs and symptoms included nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, tingling sensation around the lips, numbness around the mouth, drowsiness, lethargy and generalized weakness with paraesthesia in the limbs. The five deaths occurred within 3 to 4 hours after eating the poisoned olives and resulted from respiratory failure. Left-over olives from the affected household and freshly collected live olives had a toxicity of 14,200 mouse units (M.U.) and 15,000 M.U. per 100 g meat respectively. No other common chemical poison and organophosphorus insecticides were detected. The neurotoxic agent was acid and heat stable and was toxic at pH less than 4. Its action was similar to that of paralytic shellfish poisoning which was caused by toxins from certain dinoflagellates.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Pectenotoxins--an issue for public health: a review of their comparative toxicology and metabolism.

Pectenotoxins (PTXs) are a group of toxins associated with diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) and isolated from DSP toxin-producing dinoflagellate algae. Consumption of shellfish contaminated with PTXs has been associated with incidences of severe diarrhetic illness resulting in hospitalisation. Concern has been raised for public health following the discovery that these toxins are not only hepatotoxic and can cause diarrhetic effects in mammals, but that they are potently cytotoxic to human cancer cell lines and have been found to be tumour promoters in animals. With advances in knowledge and technology, more PTXs are being identified, but little is known of their toxicology and the potential impact these toxins may have on public health in the long term. Without such information, adequate health-risk assessments for the consumption of shellfish contaminated with PTXs cannot be performed. This review gives a brief introduction to diarrhetic shellfish toxins, details the known toxicology and metabolism of PTXs in animals, and discusses known incidences of PTX poisoning in humans.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Microalgal blooms: a global issue with negative impact in Chile.

Ecological and health problems posed by microalgal blooms (red tides) occurring in the Southern part of Chile are reviewed. Out of the six human illnesses provoked by microalgal toxins, paralytic shellfish poisoning is the most important, because of its high mortality rate and the high levels of phycotoxins found in contaminated molluscs. Saxitoxin and its analogues bind to a receptor in the voltage-gated sodium channel of neural membranes. The most important toxin-producer microalgae are Alexandrium catenella and Dinophysis acuta. Phycotoxins become concentrated by filter-feeding shellfish, like Mytilus chilensis. Highly sensitive methods available for detection of microalgal toxins are analyzed.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Dinophysistoxin-2: the predominant diarrhoetic shellfish toxin in Ireland.

Diarrhoetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) in Europe is due mainly to the presence of the dinoflagellate toxin, okadaic acid (OA). However, analysis of cultivated mussels (Mytilus edulis) from southwest Ireland revealed that an isomer of OA, dinophysistoxin-2, was the major toxin present during DSP episodes. Using fluorimetric HPLC, following derivatisation with 9-anthryldiazomethane, both OA and DTX-2 were found in shellfish during a prolonged toxic episode in 1991. However, examination of similar mussel cultivation locations in 1994 showed that DTX-2 was even more predominant. During this DSP period, OA levels were less than 0.7 microgram/g, whereas maximum DTX-2 levels of 6.3 micrograms/g hepatopancreas were recorded. This toxicity in shellfish occurred soon after high cell counts of Dinophysis acuta were observed. As well as large seasonal variability in toxin levels in rope cultured mussels, substantial variations were also observed, both horizontally and vertically, within the water column.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

A competitive enzyme-linked immunoassay for domoic acid determination in human body fluids.

A polyclonal antiserum was raised in mice against domoic acid. Two of three immunogens consisted of domoic acid coupled to ovalbumin (OVA) and keyhole limpet haemocyanin at molar ratios of 47:1 and 44:1, respectively using a carbodiimide reaction. Titres of both antisera exceeded 1/35,000 against domoic acid coupled to the non-relevant carrier. Domoic acid was also conjugated to bovine serum albumin at a molar ratio of 30:1 using N-hydroxysuccinimidyl-4-azidobenzoate, a photoreactive compound. This immunogen, however, produced no measurable serum titres against domoic acid. The antiserum produced against the OVA conjugate displayed the highest affinity for free domoic acid in competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Furthermore, this antiserum preparation did not significantly cross-react with glutamic acid, aspartic acid, the structural analogue kainic acid, or the paralytic shellfish toxin, saxitoxin. The competitive ELISA was used to quantify domoic acid concentrations in human body fluids spiked with pure domoate. The lower limits of accurate domoic acid determinations in competitive ELISA were 0.2 micrograms/ml in urine, 0.25 micrograms/ml in plasma and 10 micrograms/ml in milk. It was concluded that the competitive ELISA described herein could be used to quantitate directly the concentration of domoic acid in the body fluids of individuals with amnesic shellfish poisoning.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Occurrence of paralytic toxin in Taiwanese crab Atergatopsis germaini.

Paralytic toxicity was detected by paralytic shellfish poison bioassay for all 17 specimens of the xanthid crab A. germaini collected from northern Taiwan in November 1993. The average toxicity of crab specimens was 3809 +/- 2591 mouse units (mean +/- S.D.). The toxin was partially purified from ethanolic extract of the crab by ultrafiltration and Bio-Gel P-2 column chromatography. Electrophoresis, TLC, HPLC, ultraviolet spectrum and GC-MS analyses indicated that the crab toxin was composed of gonyautoxin 3 (50%), neosaxitoxin and saxitoxin (7%), a novel paralytic shellfish poison-like toxin (40%) and tetrodotoxin (3%).

Animals↗
PubMed1993

[Poisoning by the consumption of shellfish contaminated with paralytic venom in the XII Region, Chile. Anatomopathological study].

The necropsy findings of ten subjects died as a consequence of paralytic shellfish intoxication are presented. These deaths occurred between march 1991 and january 1992, affected to seamen and occurred within 72 hours of contaminated shellfish ingestion. Necropsies were performed within 24 hours of death. The most outstanding necropsy findings were the presence of pink lividities, mydriasis and isocoria, airway obstruction with gastric contents, severe brain, lung liver and spleen swelling and edema, and digestive and respiratory mucosal congestion and friability. The toxicological study of urine, gastric content and organ samples revealed the presence of shellfish paralytic poison.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Domoic acid accumulation in French shellfish in relation to toxic species of Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries and P. pseudodelicatissima.

Within the French phytoplankton monitoring network (REPHY), domoic acid (DA), the toxin responsible for amnesic shellfish poisoning, was first detected in samples collected in 1998. Toxin analysis by the official method [liquid chromatography with diode array detection (LC/DAD)] was performed when Pseudo-nitzschia cell concentration was greater than 1.0 x 10(5) cells/l. LC/DAD results obtained in 1999 and 2000 showed increased DA accumulation in bivalves sampled at different sites along French coasts. The toxin maximum in 1999 was 3.2 microg DA/g of whole tissue, whereas the levels in 2000 (53 microg) were above the sanitary threshold (20 microg DA/g tissue). Phytoplankton samples collected during blooms were observed by both light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Identification of phytoplankton species by SEM analyses confirmed the presence of two known DA-producing species, P. pseudodelicatissima and P. multiseries. LC/DAD results for a mass culture of P. multiseries indicated that this species was involved in DA accumulation in French shellfish.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Development of a protein phosphatase-based assay for the detection of phosphatase inhibitors in crude whole cell and animal extracts.

Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) is a serious and globally widespread phytoplankton-related seafood illness. Although DSP is rarely life-threatening, it causes incapacitating diarrhea and vomiting with no known medical treatments. In addition, phytoplankton producing DSP toxins have been identified in temperate coastal waters worldwide, and their numbers may be increasing as a result of coastal eutrophication. The toxic effects of the major DSP toxins, okadaic acid and dinophysistoxin-1 (35-methylokadaic acid), appear to originate from their inhibitory activity against a family of structurally related serine/threonine protein phosphatases (PSPases). In particular, the inhibition of essential PSPases (e.g. PP1 and PP2A) has catastrophic consequences in most eukaryonic cells. Exploiting the potent inhibitory property of the DSP toxins, we have developed an enzyme-based assay (PP2A assay) capable of detecting both okadaic acid and dinophysistoxin-1 in nanogram amounts. The assay employs purified PP2A, which has an extremely high affinity for both DSP toxins. This provides the PP2A assay with a level of sensitivity comparable to, or surpassing, that of most monoclonal antibody probes. To evaluate the PP2A assay as a means of detecting contaminated shellfish, a series of spike recovery experiments was conducted. The findings from these studies suggest that the PP2A assay has the potential for development into a rapid and relatively simple method for detecting PSPase inhibitors in crude extracts produced from shellfish.

Animal Population Groups↗
PubMed1998

[Algal toxins, inhibitors of serine/threonine phosphatases].

Under certain environmental conditions, marine and freshwater phytoplankton may produce phycotoxins inhibitors of serine/thréonine protein phosphatases 1, 2A and 3. In the marine environment, dinoflagellates produce fatty polyethers: okadaic acid and its derivatives, the dinophysistoxins, which accumulate in shellfish and can cause diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) when ingested. In freshwater, the toxins are microcystins and nodularin, 7 or 5 amino acid cyclic peptides and are hepatotoxic. These toxins have caused massive poisoning of wild animals or domestic livestock and now are a health threat for humans through use of drinking and recreation water. Moreover, all these toxins are potent tumor promoters but belong to a new class, different from the TPA class, because they do not act on Protein Kinase C. Although the mutagenicity Ames test responds negatively, several results show their genotoxic potential, and therefore they are a health hazard through chronic exposition to low doses. Finally, okadaic acid, through its easy penetration in all cellular types can be used as a tool to study mechanisms involved in protein phosphorylation/dephosphorylation processes.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Non-selective retention of PSP toxins by the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis fed with the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense.

Mussels, Mytilus galloprovincialis, were contaminated by paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins by being fed with the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense. Temporal variations in the toxin content and the profile of mussels during the feeding experiment were monitored by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The toxin profile of mussels was compared with that of A. tamarense to clarify the mechanism of uptake of toxins in mussels. The prominent toxins in mussels and A. tamarense were N-sulfocarbamoyl toxins (C1,2) and carbamate toxins, gonyautoxin-1,4 (GTX1,4). The toxin profiles of both mussels and A. tamarense were almost constant throughout the experimental period. There were no remarkable differences in the toxin proportion between mussel and A. tamarense. These results indicate that mussels do not selectively accumulate particular toxins.

Animals↗