Recent trends of food poisoning caused by marine natural toxins

Abstract

  Monitoring of marine toxins in shellfish and fin fish are carried out mainly by mouse bioassays in Japan (MBA). To achieve higher specificity, sensitivity, accuracy, and rapidity, however, the world is shifting to alternative methods, as exemplified by the EU decision to abolish MBA by the end of 2014. Lipophilic shellfish toxins would be determined by LC-MS and paralytic shellfish toxins by HPLC methods. Ciguatera toxins in the Pacific could be monitored by the LC-MS method we are developing. A promising aspect of receptor binding assays is shown for Caribbean type ciguatoxins. The severe poisoning due to ingestion of Scarus ovifrons does not involve palytoxin and should be regarded as rhabdomyolysis known to occur worldwide after eating various aquatic animals.