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Review
. 2008 May 28;6(2):220-42.
doi: 10.3390/md20080011.

Tetrodotoxin--distribution and accumulation in aquatic organisms, and cases of human intoxication

Tamao Noguchi  1 , Osamu Arakawa
Affiliations
Review

Tetrodotoxin--distribution and accumulation in aquatic organisms, and cases of human intoxication

Tamao Noguchi et al. Mar Drugs. .

Abstract

Many pufferfish of the family Tetraodontidae possess a potent neurotoxin, tetrodotoxin (TTX). In marine pufferfish species, toxicity is generally high in the liver and ovary, whereas in brackish water and freshwater species, toxicity is higher in the skin. In 1964, the toxin of the California newt was identified as TTX as well, and since then TTX has been detected in a variety of other organisms. TTX is produced primarily by marine bacteria, and pufferfish accumulate TTX via the food chain that begins with these bacteria. Consequently, pufferfish become non-toxic when they are fed TTX-free diets in an environment in which the invasion of TTX-bearing organisms is completely shut off. Although some researchers claim that the TTX of amphibians is endogenous, we believe that it also has an exogenous origin, i.e., from organisms consumed as food. TTX-bearing animals are equipped with a high tolerance to TTX, and thus retain or accumulate TTX possibly as a biologic defense substance. There have been many cases of human intoxication due to the ingestion of TTX-bearing pufferfish, mainly in Japan, China, and Taiwan, and several victims have died. Several cases of TTX intoxication due to the ingestion of small gastropods, including some lethal cases, were recently reported in China and Taiwan, revealing a serious public health issue.

Keywords: gastropod; human intoxication; marine bacteria; newt; pufferfish; tetrodotoxin.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Structure of TTX.
Figure 2
Figure 2
HPLC of TTX fraction from a Vibrio strain (left) and of authentic TTX (right) [74].
Figure 3
Figure 3
TTX infestation to the non-toxic cultured pufferfish T. rubripes and non-toxic three species of fish by feeding TTX-containing livers of wild pufferfish. ▵: Cultured pufferfish; TTX dosage of 0.5 MU/g body mass/day. ○: cultured pufferfish; TTX dosage of 4 MU/g body mass/day. □: non-toxic three species of fish; TTX dosage of 4 MU/g body mass/day.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Proposed mechanism of TTX accumulation in marine animals.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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