Tetrodotoxin and saxitoxin in two native species of puffer fish, Sphoeroides marmoratus and Lagocephalus lagocephalus, from NE Atlantic Ocean (Madeira Island, Portugal)

• Published in: Marine environmental research Vol. 151; p. 104780
• Main Authors: Pinto, Estefanía Pereira, Rodrigues, Susana Margarida, Gouveia, Neide, Timóteo, Viriato, Costa, Pedro Reis
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2019; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Animals; Atlantic Ocean; Chemical oceanography; Chromatography, Liquid; Digestive system; Female; Fish; Gastrointestinal tract; Gonads; Indigenous species; Lagocephalus lagocephalus; Levels; Male; Marine toxins; Native organisms; Native puffer fish; Neurotoxins; Portugal; Saxitoxin; Saxitoxin - isolation & purification; Sphoeroides marmoratus; STX; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Tetraodontiformes; Tetrodotoxin; Tetrodotoxin - isolation & purification; Toxins; Trace levels; TTX; Portugal; Atlantic Ocean; Madeira (Island); TTX; Native puffer fish; Chemical oceanography; Marine toxins; STX
• ISSN: 0141-1136; 1879-0291
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2019.104780

The presence in EU waters of invasive tetrodotoxin (TTX) -harbouring puffer fishes has been receiving increasingly attention due to potential new threats posed by this potent neurotoxin. The present study investigates the occurrence of tetrodotoxin, saxitoxin (STX), and their analogues in two native puffer fish species from the NE Atlantic. High TTX content was detected by LC-MS/MS in several tissues of the Guinean puffer Sphoeroides marmoratus from Madeira Island (Portugal), reaching concentrations as high as 15 mg TTX kg−1 in the digestive tract of a male specimen and 7.4 mg TTX kg−1 in gonads of a female specimen. Several TTX analogues were also detected, including the 4-epi-TTX, 4,9-Anhydro-TTX, 5- 11- deoxyTTX and 6,11-dideoxyTTX. Although at low levels, STX was detected in liver of the Oceanic puffer Lagocephalus lagocephalus. Trace levels of decarbamoylsaxitoxin (dcSTX) were also observed in L. lagocephalus. This study reports the presence of TTX and STX in native fish from EU waters, highlighting the need for a proper understating of the origin, distribution and fate of these toxins in NE Atlantic. •High levels of TTX were determined in Guinean puffer from Madeira Island.•TTX was found in liver, gonads and muscle of native puffer fish.•Saxitoxin was detected in liver of the Oceanic puffer from NE Atlantic.