Nagashima Yuji, Matsumoto Takuya, Kadoyama Keisuke, Ishizaki Shoichiro, Taniyama Shigeto, Takatani Tomohiro, Arakawa Osamu, Terayama Makoto
Department of Food Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Japan.
Shokuhin Eiseigaku Zasshi. 2012;53(2):85-90. doi: 10.3358/shokueishi.53.85.
Food poisoning due to ingestion of a puffer fish occurred in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, in October 2008, causing neurotoxic symptoms similar to those of tetrodotoxin (TTX) poisoning. In the present study, we identified the species, toxicity, and toxins using the remaining samples of the causative puffer fish. The puffer fish was identified as smooth-backed blowfish Lagocephalus inermis by nucleotide sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA and cytochrome b gene fragments of muscle mitochondrial DNA. The residual liver sample showed toxicity as high as 1,230 mouse unit (MU)/g by bioassay and TTX was detected by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis. We therefore concluded that the food poisoning was due to TTX caused by consumption of the toxic liver of L. inermis. This is the first report that the liver of L. inermis caught in Japanese waters is strongly toxic, with levels exceeding 1,000 MU/g. In this context, we re-examined the toxicity of L. inermis collected off the coast of Japan. Of 13 specimens assayed, 12 were toxic, although the toxicity varied markedly among individuals and tissues. Because the intestine and ovary of L. inermis have been considered non-toxic, it is particularly noteworthy that these organs were determined to be toxic, with a maximum toxicity of 43.6 MU/g and 10.0 MU/g, respectively. Furthermore, kidney, gallbladder, and spleen, whose toxicity has been unknown, were frequently found to be weakly toxic with levels ranging from 10 to 99 MU/g. Therefore, further study is needed to re-examine the toxicity of smooth-backed blowfish L. inermis in the coastal waters of Japan.
2008年10月，日本长崎县发生了因食用河豚导致的食物中毒事件，出现了与河豚毒素（TTX）中毒相似的神经毒性症状。在本研究中，我们使用致病河豚的剩余样本鉴定了其种类、毒性和毒素。通过对肌肉线粒体DNA的16S rRNA和细胞色素b基因片段进行核苷酸序列分析，将该河豚鉴定为无刺多纪鲀。通过生物测定，残留的肝脏样本显示毒性高达1230小鼠单位（MU）/克，并且通过液相色谱/质谱分析检测到了TTX。因此，我们得出结论，此次食物中毒是由于食用了无刺多纪鲀的有毒肝脏导致的TTX中毒。这是关于在日本海域捕获的无刺多纪鲀肝脏具有强毒性且含量超过1000 MU/克的首次报告。在此背景下，我们重新检测了在日本沿海采集的无刺多纪鲀的毒性。在检测的13个样本中，12个有毒，尽管不同个体和组织的毒性差异显著。由于无刺多纪鲀的肠道和卵巢一直被认为无毒，特别值得注意的是，这些器官被确定有毒，最大毒性分别为43.6 MU/克和10.0 MU/克。此外，此前毒性未知的肾脏、胆囊和脾脏经常被发现具有弱毒性，含量在10至99 MU/克之间。因此，需要进一步研究重新检测日本沿海水域无刺多纪鲀的毒性。
