ABSTRACT
Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxin profiles were compared among four culture strains of Alexandrium minutum. GTX-1, 2, 3 and 4 are the PSP toxins that occur in A. minutum, and other PSP toxins were not detected. When comparing the toxin profile of four A. minutum strains, GTX1 and 4 were the major toxins in Amtk1, Amtk2, and Amtk4, but in Amtk7, GTX3 and 2 were the major toxins. The results indicate that strains with various toxin profiles exist in southern Taiwan, and suggest that the comparison of the toxin profiles between strains at different localities is difficult. Additionally, the toxin profiles of A. minutum strains cultured in the same environment were different, suggesting that it was owing to the intrinsic nature of toxic algae.
Subject(s)
Dinoflagellida/chemistry , Marine Toxins/chemistry , Mollusk Venoms/chemistry , Neurotoxins/chemistry , Animals , Dinoflagellida/classification , Dinoflagellida/growth & development , Foodborne Diseases , Shellfish , TaiwanABSTRACT
High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using fluorescent detection following post-column alkaline degradation and a sample preparation procedure for the analysis were established to detect tetrodotoxins (TTXs) in seafood. In south Taiwan Prefectures, each specimen of shellfishes and gobies, collected from Chiayi, Tainan, and Pingtung from January 1997 to May 1998, was analyzed by HPLC to detect the presence and quantity of TTXs. Overall results showed that only 5 specimens out of 557 specimens contained TTXs; the toxic species were gastropod Natica lineata and Nassarius livescens. The highest TTX content is 10.0 microg/g in N. livescens. Gobies and other species of shellfishes were nontoxic. Although the rate of toxic specimens in all samples was low and showed no seasonal trends, the TTX contents of toxic specimens were higher than safety criteria value.