Environmental Letters
ISSN: 0013-9300 (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/lesa17
Lack of Secondary Intoxification by Red Tide Poison in the American Lobster Homarus Americanus Clarice M. Yentsch & William Balch To cite this article: Clarice M. Yentsch & William Balch (1975) Lack of Secondary Intoxification by Red Tide Poison in the American Lobster Homarus Americanus , Environmental Letters, 9:3, 249-254, DOI: 10.1080/00139307509435853 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00139307509435853
Published online: 02 Sep 2009.
Submit your article to this journal
Article views: 2
View related articles
Citing articles: 4 View citing articles
Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=2esa20 Download by: [University of Cambridge]
Date: 06 November 2015, At: 19:43
E g ~ ~ ~ ~ N P E NLETTERS, TAL 9 ( 3 ) , 249- 254 (1975)
LACK OF SECONDARY INTOXIFICATION BY RED TIDE POISON I N
Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 19:43 06 November 2015
THE AHERICAN LOBSTER HONARUS A?ERICANUS C l a r i c e 11. Yentsch W i l l i a m Balch Bigelow Laboratory f o r Ocean S c i e n c e McKown P o i n t West Boothbay Harbor, Maine 04575
KEY WORDS:
c -
Red T i d e , American L o b s t e r , Homarus americanus
ABSTRACT
L o b s t e r s are a b l e t o f e e d on s h e l l f i s h which are t o x i c with PSP ( p a r a l y t i c s h e l l f i s h p o i s o n i n g from Gonyaulax t a m a r e n s i s ) w i t h n o a p p a r e n t harm t o themselves, and n o measurable a s s i m i l a t i o n of t h e p o i s o n i n t o t h e i r t i s s u e s . Lobsters consumed food c o n t a i n i n g i n e x c e s s of 1000 Fg PSP. There was n o impairment of r e s p i r a t i o n (oxygen consumption) measurable two t o t h r e e h o u r s a f t e r f e e d i n g , and no PSP measured i n t h e meat of t h e claws and t a i l 48 t o 120 h o u r s a f t e r feeding.
The o n l y PSP was i n t h e g u t s and c o n t e n t s
which were measured 4 8 hours a f t e r f e e d i n g began.
249 Copyright 0 1975 by hlarcel Dekker, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Neither this work nor any part may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilming. and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
YENTSCH AND BALCH
250
There i s a g e n e r a l l y accepted n o t i o n among s c i e n t i s t s and l a y persons t h a t PSP a f f e c t s only molluscan s h e l l f i s h , and n o t c r u s t a c e a n s h e l l f i s h .
Experimental d a t a and obser-
Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 19:43 06 November 2015
v a t i o n s t o support t h i s are s c a n t y and i n some cases contradictory.
A t e s t f o r red t i d e t o x i n i n crabs was p o s i t i v e
d u r i n g t h e r e c e n t outbreak i n J a p a n . The o b j e c t i v e of t h i s s t u d y w a s t o provide experimental c r e d i b i l i t y t o t h e assumption t h a t l o b s t e r s a r e s a f e f o r human consumption a t times of red t i d e outbreak. It i s w e l l known t h a t t h e l o b s t e r i s a scavenger, and
t h u s t h e only p o t e n t i a l f o r i n t o x i f i c a t i o n w i t h PSP would be i f t h e l o b s t e r had consumed t o x i c s h e l l f i s h dary intoxification.
-- thus
secon-
Lobsters have been analyzed d u r i n g red
t i d e outbreak s i t u a t i o n s a t t h i s l a b o r a t o r y a s w e l l a s o t h e r s and have been found t o b e f r e e of t h e PSP.
However, what
t h e s e l o b s t e r s had e a t e n p r i o r t o a n a l y s i s was unknown. 1 Twarog (personal communication) found a blockage of t h e a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l i n t h e i s o l a t e d nerve from Homarus americanus by t h e poison.
By comparison, t h e nerve of t h e
l o b s t e r was more s e n s i t i v e t o t h e PSP than were t h e n e r v e s 2
from many b i v a l v e mollusks.
The hypothesis developed t h a t
t h e nerves of t h e l o b s t e r are s o s e n s i t i v e t o t h e poison t h a t t h e l o b s t e r must d i e b e f o r e poison l e v e l s could accumulate in h i s t i s s u e s t o b e dangerous f o r human consumption.
RED TIDE INTOXIFICATION I N LOBSTER
251
UTERIALS AND NETHODS
Twelve d i f f e r e n t l o b s t e r s , Homarus anericanus, were used f o r t h e secondary i n t o x i f i c a t i o n t e s t .
The l o b s t e r s were
Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 19:43 06 November 2015
kept i n i n d i v i d u a l c o n t a i n e r s i n a flowing seawater system and kept a t ambient temperature which was approximately 18°C. n e food s o u r c e used were v a r i o u s combinations of h i g h l y t o x i c surf clams ( S p i s u l a s o l i d i s s i m a ) w i t h l e v e l s of PSP around 3200pg/100 g of t i s s u e and s l i g h t l y t o x i c s o f t - s h e l l clams ( I & a r e n a r i a ) w i t h l e v e l s of PSP around 56 )rg/lOO g of
tissue.
The food was presented t o t h e l o b s t e r a t one feeding
and consumed r e a d i l y . I n s h e l l f i s h studies i n t h i s laboratory, intoxification has always shown g r e a t l y reduced g i l l a c t i v i t y . r e s p i r a t i o n of t h e l o b s t e r s was monitored.
Therefore
R e s p i r a t i o n was
measured u s i n g a s e l f - s t i r r i n g oxygen probe, connected t o a Yellow Springs Oxygen meter, i n s e r t e d i n t o a 20+ l i t e r c o n t a i n e r p a r t i a l l y submerged i n a w a t e r b a t h a t 18°C.
Respi-
r a t i o n measurements were made two t o t h r e e hours a f t e r consumption of t h e food m a t e r i a l f o r a p e r i o d of 50 t o 60 minutes. A t 48 t o 120 hour p e r i o d s a f t e r t h e f e e d i n g , t h e l o b s t e r s
were b o i l e d u n t i l red ( t h e l o b s t e r s were b o i l e d - i n a manner a s i f prepared € o r human consumption), and 50 gram samples of meat (combined from claw and t a i l ) , a n d t h e g u t s were removed f o r a n a l y s i s .
s o l u t i o n s were prepared according t o
YENTSCH AND BALCH
252
t h e methods o f A.O.A.C.
O f f i c i a l Nethods of A n a l y s i s , Tenth 3 E d i t i o n , B i o l o g i c a l Method, 18, 282-284, 1965, and t h e mouse b i o a s s a y w a s performed; t h r e e mice b e i n g used f o r e a c h
Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 19:43 06 November 2015
bioassay. The l e v e l s of PSP i n t h e f o o d e a t e n by t h e l o b s t e r s
were near t h e " l e t h a l dosage" l e v e l s f o r a human w e ighing i n e x c e s s of 100 l b s .
A s s w i n g t h e l o b s t e r s a l l weighed one
pound, and c o r r e c t i n g f o r t h e g r o s s wei g ht d i f f e r e n c e between t h e w e i g h t of . l o b s t e r s and humans, t h e d osa ge s s h o u l d ha ve been i n e x c e s s of 100 times a letEa1 d o s a ge f o r a l o b s t e r . I n humans, l a r g e q u a n t i t i e s o f PSP c a u s e s d e s e n s i t i z a t i o n o f t h e n e r v e s and r e s p i r a t i o n i s i mp ai r ed w i t h i n h o u r s .
In
l o b s t e r s f e d h i g h l y t o x i c clams ( F i g u r e l) , r e s p i r a t o r y im pa irment was n o t o b s er v ed .
Oxygen consumption by i n d i v i d u a l
l o b s t e r s was m ai n l y a f u n c t i o n of wei g h t of t h e l o b s t e r . The r e s u l t s of t h e mouse b i o a s s a y show no PSP i n t h e meat of t h e t a i l and claws a f t e r 4 8 - o r 1 2 0 h o u r s , and l i t t l e PSP i n t h e g u t s and i t s c o n t e n t s ( s e e t a b l e ) . These r e s u l t s i n d i c a t e t h a t l o b s t e r s do n o t become s e c o n d a r i l y i n t o x i f i e d w i t h PSP d e s p i t e t h e i r consuming l a r g e q u a n t i t i e s o f h i g h l y t o x i c s h e l l f i s h . - The l o b s t e r s ga ve no i n d i c a t i o n o f n er v o u s o r r e s p i r a t o r y impairment and t h e r e w a s no PSP measured i n t h e meat of t h e claws and t a i l . T h i s e v i d e n c e s h o u l d c a n c e l any f e a r of e a t i n g l o b s t e r meat
253
Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 19:43 06 November 2015
RED TIDE INTOXIFICATION IN LOBSTER
O
5
io
is 50
25
30
5s 40
4s
50
55
60
TIME (mhutar)
FIGURE 1
R e s p i r a t i o n expressed a s oxygen consumed by v a r i o u s sized lobsters.
Two of t h e s e v e n - l o b s t e r s t e s t e d were f e d
highly t o x i c clams.
even during v e r y s e v e r e r e d t i d e outbreaks. The only warnt h a t should b e given i s t h a t t h e consumption of i n t e r n a l organs of t h e l o b s t e r should be avoided. This evidence coupled w i t h t h e neurophysiological evidence of Twarog 2 s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e American l o b s t e r must have some mechanism whereby t h e PSP consumed i s r e s t r i c t e d from e n t e r i n g t h e l o b s t e r meat. anism is c u r r e n t l y underway.
The study of t h i s mech-
YENTSCH AND BALCH
254 Table 1.
PSP l e v e l s i n food c o n s m e d , n e a t and g u t s as Eeasured by t h e r0-e Weight
Lobster
(02.1
PSP in food
Tine berveen
PSP n e a t
PSP guts
consmed
f e e d i n g and a?alysfs
c l a v a and t a i l
(ug110Og)
(';g/lOOg)
(hours)
(.sr/lOOg)
B
16
42.03
120
C
17
?33.51*
48
----
D
15
1222.53
120
50.98
E
15
1326.49
48
117.03
14
A
Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 19:43 06 November 2015
Pioassay.
30.26
48
---
F Lobster F
L%S
recrovcd f r o 3 food a f t e r 72 hours and t h e r e f o r e consuzed no food between hour 1
and hour 120 when analysed.
A l l o t h e r l o b s t e r s were n o t renoved from food u n t i l a n a l y s i s .
The food rernainfng'vas weighed a n d t h e PSP v a s cocputed on t h e food a c t u a l l y consuced (colu=r 3).
*
Data based on t h e a s s u q c i o n t h a t t h e l o b s t e r C c o n s u e d e q u a l q u a n t i t i e s of h i g h l y
toxfc vs. l o v t o x i c food.
REFERENCES
1.
Twarog, B. M. personal communication, Dept. of Biology. T u f t s University, Pledford, flass. 02155 (1973)
2.
Twarog, B. M., T. Hidaka, H. Yamacuchi, Toxicon 10, 273 (1972)
3.
Prakash, A.,
J . Pledcaf, A. Tennant, F i s h e r i e s Research 177, 1 (1971)
Board of Canada B u l l e t i n , ---
4.
We acknowledge t h e a s s i s t a n c e of M. C o l l i n s , M. Hayes, S. Huyler, S. O'Callaghan, C. S u l l i v a n and T. Thorpe and t h e advice of D r . E. G i l f i l l a n and D r . C. Martin.
5.
Supported i n p a r t by t h e S t a t e of Maine Department of Plarine Resources, Mass. Science and Technolozy Foundation AEC Contract AT (11-1) 3024 and t h e Rockport P u o l i c Schools.
,
ISSN: 0013-9300 (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/lesa17
Lack of Secondary Intoxification by Red Tide Poison in the American Lobster Homarus Americanus Clarice M. Yentsch & William Balch To cite this article: Clarice M. Yentsch & William Balch (1975) Lack of Secondary Intoxification by Red Tide Poison in the American Lobster Homarus Americanus , Environmental Letters, 9:3, 249-254, DOI: 10.1080/00139307509435853 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00139307509435853
Published online: 02 Sep 2009.
Submit your article to this journal
Article views: 2
View related articles
Citing articles: 4 View citing articles
Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=2esa20 Download by: [University of Cambridge]
Date: 06 November 2015, At: 19:43
E g ~ ~ ~ ~ N P E NLETTERS, TAL 9 ( 3 ) , 249- 254 (1975)
LACK OF SECONDARY INTOXIFICATION BY RED TIDE POISON I N
Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 19:43 06 November 2015
THE AHERICAN LOBSTER HONARUS A?ERICANUS C l a r i c e 11. Yentsch W i l l i a m Balch Bigelow Laboratory f o r Ocean S c i e n c e McKown P o i n t West Boothbay Harbor, Maine 04575
KEY WORDS:
c -
Red T i d e , American L o b s t e r , Homarus americanus
ABSTRACT
L o b s t e r s are a b l e t o f e e d on s h e l l f i s h which are t o x i c with PSP ( p a r a l y t i c s h e l l f i s h p o i s o n i n g from Gonyaulax t a m a r e n s i s ) w i t h n o a p p a r e n t harm t o themselves, and n o measurable a s s i m i l a t i o n of t h e p o i s o n i n t o t h e i r t i s s u e s . Lobsters consumed food c o n t a i n i n g i n e x c e s s of 1000 Fg PSP. There was n o impairment of r e s p i r a t i o n (oxygen consumption) measurable two t o t h r e e h o u r s a f t e r f e e d i n g , and no PSP measured i n t h e meat of t h e claws and t a i l 48 t o 120 h o u r s a f t e r feeding.
The o n l y PSP was i n t h e g u t s and c o n t e n t s
which were measured 4 8 hours a f t e r f e e d i n g began.
249 Copyright 0 1975 by hlarcel Dekker, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Neither this work nor any part may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilming. and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
YENTSCH AND BALCH
250
There i s a g e n e r a l l y accepted n o t i o n among s c i e n t i s t s and l a y persons t h a t PSP a f f e c t s only molluscan s h e l l f i s h , and n o t c r u s t a c e a n s h e l l f i s h .
Experimental d a t a and obser-
Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 19:43 06 November 2015
v a t i o n s t o support t h i s are s c a n t y and i n some cases contradictory.
A t e s t f o r red t i d e t o x i n i n crabs was p o s i t i v e
d u r i n g t h e r e c e n t outbreak i n J a p a n . The o b j e c t i v e of t h i s s t u d y w a s t o provide experimental c r e d i b i l i t y t o t h e assumption t h a t l o b s t e r s a r e s a f e f o r human consumption a t times of red t i d e outbreak. It i s w e l l known t h a t t h e l o b s t e r i s a scavenger, and
t h u s t h e only p o t e n t i a l f o r i n t o x i f i c a t i o n w i t h PSP would be i f t h e l o b s t e r had consumed t o x i c s h e l l f i s h dary intoxification.
-- thus
secon-
Lobsters have been analyzed d u r i n g red
t i d e outbreak s i t u a t i o n s a t t h i s l a b o r a t o r y a s w e l l a s o t h e r s and have been found t o b e f r e e of t h e PSP.
However, what
t h e s e l o b s t e r s had e a t e n p r i o r t o a n a l y s i s was unknown. 1 Twarog (personal communication) found a blockage of t h e a c t i o n p o t e n t i a l i n t h e i s o l a t e d nerve from Homarus americanus by t h e poison.
By comparison, t h e nerve of t h e
l o b s t e r was more s e n s i t i v e t o t h e PSP than were t h e n e r v e s 2
from many b i v a l v e mollusks.
The hypothesis developed t h a t
t h e nerves of t h e l o b s t e r are s o s e n s i t i v e t o t h e poison t h a t t h e l o b s t e r must d i e b e f o r e poison l e v e l s could accumulate in h i s t i s s u e s t o b e dangerous f o r human consumption.
RED TIDE INTOXIFICATION I N LOBSTER
251
UTERIALS AND NETHODS
Twelve d i f f e r e n t l o b s t e r s , Homarus anericanus, were used f o r t h e secondary i n t o x i f i c a t i o n t e s t .
The l o b s t e r s were
Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 19:43 06 November 2015
kept i n i n d i v i d u a l c o n t a i n e r s i n a flowing seawater system and kept a t ambient temperature which was approximately 18°C. n e food s o u r c e used were v a r i o u s combinations of h i g h l y t o x i c surf clams ( S p i s u l a s o l i d i s s i m a ) w i t h l e v e l s of PSP around 3200pg/100 g of t i s s u e and s l i g h t l y t o x i c s o f t - s h e l l clams ( I & a r e n a r i a ) w i t h l e v e l s of PSP around 56 )rg/lOO g of
tissue.
The food was presented t o t h e l o b s t e r a t one feeding
and consumed r e a d i l y . I n s h e l l f i s h studies i n t h i s laboratory, intoxification has always shown g r e a t l y reduced g i l l a c t i v i t y . r e s p i r a t i o n of t h e l o b s t e r s was monitored.
Therefore
R e s p i r a t i o n was
measured u s i n g a s e l f - s t i r r i n g oxygen probe, connected t o a Yellow Springs Oxygen meter, i n s e r t e d i n t o a 20+ l i t e r c o n t a i n e r p a r t i a l l y submerged i n a w a t e r b a t h a t 18°C.
Respi-
r a t i o n measurements were made two t o t h r e e hours a f t e r consumption of t h e food m a t e r i a l f o r a p e r i o d of 50 t o 60 minutes. A t 48 t o 120 hour p e r i o d s a f t e r t h e f e e d i n g , t h e l o b s t e r s
were b o i l e d u n t i l red ( t h e l o b s t e r s were b o i l e d - i n a manner a s i f prepared € o r human consumption), and 50 gram samples of meat (combined from claw and t a i l ) , a n d t h e g u t s were removed f o r a n a l y s i s .
s o l u t i o n s were prepared according t o
YENTSCH AND BALCH
252
t h e methods o f A.O.A.C.
O f f i c i a l Nethods of A n a l y s i s , Tenth 3 E d i t i o n , B i o l o g i c a l Method, 18, 282-284, 1965, and t h e mouse b i o a s s a y w a s performed; t h r e e mice b e i n g used f o r e a c h
Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 19:43 06 November 2015
bioassay. The l e v e l s of PSP i n t h e f o o d e a t e n by t h e l o b s t e r s
were near t h e " l e t h a l dosage" l e v e l s f o r a human w e ighing i n e x c e s s of 100 l b s .
A s s w i n g t h e l o b s t e r s a l l weighed one
pound, and c o r r e c t i n g f o r t h e g r o s s wei g ht d i f f e r e n c e between t h e w e i g h t of . l o b s t e r s and humans, t h e d osa ge s s h o u l d ha ve been i n e x c e s s of 100 times a letEa1 d o s a ge f o r a l o b s t e r . I n humans, l a r g e q u a n t i t i e s o f PSP c a u s e s d e s e n s i t i z a t i o n o f t h e n e r v e s and r e s p i r a t i o n i s i mp ai r ed w i t h i n h o u r s .
In
l o b s t e r s f e d h i g h l y t o x i c clams ( F i g u r e l) , r e s p i r a t o r y im pa irment was n o t o b s er v ed .
Oxygen consumption by i n d i v i d u a l
l o b s t e r s was m ai n l y a f u n c t i o n of wei g h t of t h e l o b s t e r . The r e s u l t s of t h e mouse b i o a s s a y show no PSP i n t h e meat of t h e t a i l and claws a f t e r 4 8 - o r 1 2 0 h o u r s , and l i t t l e PSP i n t h e g u t s and i t s c o n t e n t s ( s e e t a b l e ) . These r e s u l t s i n d i c a t e t h a t l o b s t e r s do n o t become s e c o n d a r i l y i n t o x i f i e d w i t h PSP d e s p i t e t h e i r consuming l a r g e q u a n t i t i e s o f h i g h l y t o x i c s h e l l f i s h . - The l o b s t e r s ga ve no i n d i c a t i o n o f n er v o u s o r r e s p i r a t o r y impairment and t h e r e w a s no PSP measured i n t h e meat of t h e claws and t a i l . T h i s e v i d e n c e s h o u l d c a n c e l any f e a r of e a t i n g l o b s t e r meat
253
Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 19:43 06 November 2015
RED TIDE INTOXIFICATION IN LOBSTER
O
5
io
is 50
25
30
5s 40
4s
50
55
60
TIME (mhutar)
FIGURE 1
R e s p i r a t i o n expressed a s oxygen consumed by v a r i o u s sized lobsters.
Two of t h e s e v e n - l o b s t e r s t e s t e d were f e d
highly t o x i c clams.
even during v e r y s e v e r e r e d t i d e outbreaks. The only warnt h a t should b e given i s t h a t t h e consumption of i n t e r n a l organs of t h e l o b s t e r should be avoided. This evidence coupled w i t h t h e neurophysiological evidence of Twarog 2 s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e American l o b s t e r must have some mechanism whereby t h e PSP consumed i s r e s t r i c t e d from e n t e r i n g t h e l o b s t e r meat. anism is c u r r e n t l y underway.
The study of t h i s mech-
YENTSCH AND BALCH
254 Table 1.
PSP l e v e l s i n food c o n s m e d , n e a t and g u t s as Eeasured by t h e r0-e Weight
Lobster
(02.1
PSP in food
Tine berveen
PSP n e a t
PSP guts
consmed
f e e d i n g and a?alysfs
c l a v a and t a i l
(ug110Og)
(';g/lOOg)
(hours)
(.sr/lOOg)
B
16
42.03
120
C
17
?33.51*
48
----
D
15
1222.53
120
50.98
E
15
1326.49
48
117.03
14
A
Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 19:43 06 November 2015
Pioassay.
30.26
48
---
F Lobster F
L%S
recrovcd f r o 3 food a f t e r 72 hours and t h e r e f o r e consuzed no food between hour 1
and hour 120 when analysed.
A l l o t h e r l o b s t e r s were n o t renoved from food u n t i l a n a l y s i s .
The food rernainfng'vas weighed a n d t h e PSP v a s cocputed on t h e food a c t u a l l y consuced (colu=r 3).
*
Data based on t h e a s s u q c i o n t h a t t h e l o b s t e r C c o n s u e d e q u a l q u a n t i t i e s of h i g h l y
toxfc vs. l o v t o x i c food.
REFERENCES
1.
Twarog, B. M. personal communication, Dept. of Biology. T u f t s University, Pledford, flass. 02155 (1973)
2.
Twarog, B. M., T. Hidaka, H. Yamacuchi, Toxicon 10, 273 (1972)
3.
Prakash, A.,
J . Pledcaf, A. Tennant, F i s h e r i e s Research 177, 1 (1971)
Board of Canada B u l l e t i n , ---
4.
We acknowledge t h e a s s i s t a n c e of M. C o l l i n s , M. Hayes, S. Huyler, S. O'Callaghan, C. S u l l i v a n and T. Thorpe and t h e advice of D r . E. G i l f i l l a n and D r . C. Martin.
5.
Supported i n p a r t by t h e S t a t e of Maine Department of Plarine Resources, Mass. Science and Technolozy Foundation AEC Contract AT (11-1) 3024 and t h e Rockport P u o l i c Schools.
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