Tetrodotoxin gastropods

Yang, C., et al.. An outbreak of tetrodotoxin poisoning following gastropod mollusc consumption. Hum. Exp. Toxicol., 14, 446, 1995. 

A polyclad flatworm (planocerid sp. 1) collected in Guam was found to contain the neurotoxin tetrodotoxin (TTX 225 and ll-nortetrodotoxin-6(5)-ol 226 which it uses to kill mobile prey such as gastropod mollusks. Consistent with a role in prey capture, levels of TTX in the flatworm decreased after they were fed on cowries. Although an antipredation role has been implied for TTX in some terrestrial species, its presence does not prevent flatworms from being consumed by reef fish.259... 

Yang CC, Deng JF, Tsai WJ, Lin TJ, Han KC. An outbreak of tetrodotoxin poisoning following gastropod moUusk consumption. Hum Exp Toxicol 14 446-450, 1995. 

Hwang, D.F., Chueh, C.H., and Jeng, S.S. 1990a. Occurrence of tetrodotoxin in the gastropod mollusk Natica lineata lined moon shell. Toxicon 28, 21-27. 

Hwang, D.F., Shiu, Y.C., Hwang, P.A., and Lu, Y.H. 2002b. Tetrodotoxin in gastropods snails implicated in food poisoning in northern Taiwan. J. Food Sci 65, 1341-1344. 

Narita, H., Noguchi, T., Maruyama, J., and Hashimoto, K. 1984. Occurrence of tetrodotoxin-associated substances in gastropod hanamushirogai Zeuxis siquijorensis. Nippon Suisan Gakkaishi 50, 85-88. 

Venoms are usually protein molecules secreted by different animals from vertebrate and invertebrate species, including snakes, amphibians, bees, arthropods, fish, and gastropods. Under this definition are toxic products with different structures, most of them protein molecules with enzymatic effects, such as the snake-secreted toxins or ion channels modulators, the conotoxins produced by gastropods, while others are alkaloids with similar structure and effect as marine toxins, as is the case of batrachotoxin secreted by frogs. In this family of compounds is also included the tetrodotoxin (TTX) group, a potent neurotoxin found in puffer and tetraodontiforme fish and... 

Jen HC, Lin SJ, Lin SY, Huang YW, Liao 1C, Arakawa O, et al. Occurrence of tetrodotoxin and paralytic shellfish poisons in a gastropod implicated in food poisoning in southern Taiwan. Food Addit Contam 2007 24 902-9. 

Noguchi, T., J. Maruyama, H. Narita, and K. Hashimoto Occurrence of Tetrodotoxin in the Gastropod Mollusk Tutufa lissostoma (Frog Shell). Toxicon 22, 219 (1984). 

Cheng, C.A., Hwang, D.F., Tsai, Y.H., Chen, H.C., Jeng, S.S., Noguchi, T, Ohwada, H., and Hasimoto, K. (1995) Microflora and tetrodotoxin-producing bacteria in a gastropod, Niotha clathrata. Food Chem. Toxicol., 33, 929-934. 

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