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Review
. 2018 Jan 31;16(2):46.
doi: 10.3390/md16020046.

Mixtures of Lipophilic Phycotoxins: Exposure Data and Toxicological Assessment

Jimmy Alarcan  1 , Ronel Biré  2 , Ludovic Le Hégarat  3 , Valérie Fessard  4
Affiliations
Review

Mixtures of Lipophilic Phycotoxins: Exposure Data and Toxicological Assessment

Jimmy Alarcan et al. Mar Drugs. .

Abstract

Lipophilic phycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by phytoplanktonic species. They accumulate in filter-feeding shellfish and can cause human intoxication. Regulatory limits have been set for individual toxins, and the toxicological features are well characterized for some of them. However, phycotoxin contamination is often a co-exposure phenomenon, and toxicological data regarding mixtures effects are very scarce. Moreover, the type and occurrence of phycotoxins can greatly vary from one region to another. This review aims at summarizing the knowledge on (i) multi-toxin occurrence by a comprehensive literature review and (ii) the toxicological assessment of mixture effects. A total of 79 publications was selected for co-exposure evaluation, and 44 of them were suitable for toxin ratio calculations. The main toxin mixtures featured okadaic acid in combination with pectenotoxin-2 or yessotoxin. Only a few toxicity studies dealing with co-exposure were published. In vivo studies did not report particular mixture effects, whereas in vitro studies showed synergistic or antagonistic effects. Based on the combinations that are the most reported, further investigations on mixture effects must be carried out.

Keywords: exposure; mixtures; phycotoxins; toxicological assessment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Methodology tree for mixture effect classification established according to the EFSA report [15].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Case study of toxin-mixture contaminations. Countries where contaminations were reported are shown as [x]. A total of 44 publications considered as suitable was analyzed.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mixture ratios found in mussels based on the analysis of 44 publications. (a) Data for Asia, (b) for America, (c) for Europe and (d) for Oceania.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mixture ratios found in mussels based on the analysis of 44 publications. (a) Data for Asia, (b) for America, (c) for Europe and (d) for Oceania.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Mixture ratios found in oysters based on the analysis of the 44 publications. (a) Data for Asia, (b) for America, (c) for Europe and (d) for Oceania.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Mixture ratios found in oysters based on the analysis of the 44 publications. (a) Data for Asia, (b) for America, (c) for Europe and (d) for Oceania.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Mixture ratios found in scallops based on the analysis of the 44 publications. (a) Data for Asia, (b) for America, (c) for Europe and (d) for Oceania.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Mixture ratios found in scallops based on the analysis of the 44 publications. (a) Data for Asia, (b) for America, (c) for Europe and (d) for Oceania.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Mixture ratios found in clams based on the analysis of the 44 publications. (a) Data for Asia, (b) for America and (c) for Europe.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Mixture ratios found in clams based on the analysis of the 44 publications. (a) Data for Asia, (b) for America and (c) for Europe.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Box and whisker plots of phycotoxins ratios calculated for the main reported mixtures according to the location. The minimum, the lower quartile, the median, the upper quartile and the maximum are shown in the box and whisker plots.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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