Toxins algal

Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) was first identified in 1987 from Prince Edward Island, Canada after four people died from eating contaminated mussels. It is caused by domoic acid produced by several species of Pseudonitzschia diatoms. The main contamination problems include mussels, clams, and crabs of the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada. 

Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning (NSP) is caused by a red-tide producer that was first identified in 1880 from Florida, with earlier historical references. It causes sickness in humans lasting several days. NSP is not fatal to humans however, it is known to kill fish, invertebrates, seabirds, and marine mammals (e.g., manatees). It is caused by the brevetoxin family (brevetoxin + 10 related compounds produced by the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis a.k.a. Gymnodinium breve. The main contamination problems include oysters, clams, and other filter feeders of the Gulf of Mexico and southeast Atlantic, including North Carolina. 

Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (CFP) was first identified in 1511, CFP is a tropical-subtropical seafood poisoning that affects up to 50,000 people each year and is the most often reported foodbome disease of a chemical origin in the United States. Caused by consumption of reef fishes (e.g., grouper, snapper), sickness in 

---

W.W. Carmichael and I. R. Falconer, in Algal Toxins in Seafood and Drinking Water, ed. I. R. Falconer, Academic Press, London, 1993, p. 187. 

By interfering with any one of the many phases associated with these second messenger pathways, toxins may alter channel gating. For example, the blue green algal toxins, aplysiatoxin, and lyngbyatoxin bind to and activate protein kinase C in a manner similar to phorbol esters (73). They also stimulate arachidonic acid metabolism (74). The coral toxin, palytoxin, also stimulates arachidonic acid breakdown albeit by an unknown mechanism (74) and affects other biochemical activities of the cell (see chapters by Fujiki et al., Wattenberg et al., and Levine et al., this volume). 

Aune, T. and Yndestad, M., Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning, in Falconer, I.R., ed.. Algal Toxins in Seafood and Drinking Water, Academic Press, San Diego, 1993. Australia New Zealand Food Authority, Shellfish Toxins in Food, A Toxicological Review and Risk Assessment, Australia New Zealand Food Authority, Canberra, 2001. 

Van Dolah, F.M., Marine algal toxins origins, health effects, and their increased occurrence, Em. Health Perspect., 108 (Suppl. 1), 133, 2000. 

Yoo, R., et al., Cyanobacterial (Blue-green Algal) Toxins A Resource Guide, AWWA Research Foundation, Denver, 1995. 

Marine biotoxins are produced by naturally occurring marine phytoplankton. Marine algal toxins are responsible for more than 60,000 intoxication/year with an overall mortality of about 1.5%. These substances can accumulate in aquatic animals intended for human consumption like filter-feeding mollusks. The toxins are thermoresistant compounds therefore, normal cooking, freezing, or smoking cannot destroy them. 

Cyanobacterial toxins (both marine and freshwater) are functionally and chemically a diverse group of secondary chemicals. They show structure and function similarities to higher plant and algal toxins. Of particular importance to this publication is the production of toxins which appear to be identical with saxitoxin and neosaxitoxin. Since these are the primary toxins involved in cases of paralytic shellfish poisons, these aphantoxins could be a source of PSP standards and the study of their production by Aphanizomenon can provide information on the biosynthesis of PSP s. The cyanobacteria toxins have not received extensive attention since they have fewer vectors by which they come in contact with humans. As freshwater supplies become more eutrophicated and as cyanobacteria are increasingly used as a source of single cell protein toxic cyanobacteria will have increased importance (39). The study of these cyanobacterial toxins can contribute to a better understanding of seafood poisons. 

Sykora, J.L. Keleti, G. In "The Water Environment Algal Toxins and Health" Carmichael, W., Ed. Environmental Science Research Vol. 20, Plenum Press New York, 1981 pp. 285-302. Billings, W.H. In "The Water Environment Algal Toxins and Health" Carmichael, W., Ed. Environmental Science Research Vol. 20, Plenum Press New York, 1981, pp. 243-256. 

Algal Toxins and Health" Carmichael, W., Ed. Environmental Science Research Vol. 20, Plenum Press New York, 1981 pp. 325-342. 

Among the toxic species present in waters, algal toxins must also be considered HPLC methods for their determination are discussed in Section 18.9. 

An international intercomparison exercise in the determination of microcystin, carried out by using the most common methods (LC/DAD, ELISA and LC/MS) indicated that LC/DAD is affected by lower precision [234], while the coupling of the LC technique with ELISA permit the achievement of high sensitivity and specificity in the determination of microcystins and nodularin [235] without the need of pre-concentration the method meets the World Health Organization guidelines (1 pg L ). The combination of ELISA characterization and LC analysis with fluorescence, UV, and tandem MS detections, allowed the first identification of cylindrospermopsin, an algal toxin that caused the poisoning of up to 148 persons in Australia [236],... 

Murata, M. Yasumoto, T. (2000) The structure elucidation and biological activities of high molecular weight algal toxins maitotoxin, prymnesins and zooxanthellatoxins. Nat. Prod. Rep., 17, 293-314. 

---