Palytoxin in Two Species of Xanthid Crab from the Philippines

抄録

Two species of xanthid crab, Lophozozymus pictor and Demania alcalai, known to cause fatal poisoning when ingested, were collected on southern Negros, Philippines. They were highly fatal by mouse assays. The toxin in both species was identified as palytoxin, 'a highly lethal toxin of zoanthids, by chromatographic and mass spectrometric analyses. The toxin was found in all tissues but the concentrations were higher in the gills, viscera, and eggs.