Measurements of paralytic shellfish poisons. A review of biological and chemical procedures.

Paralytic shellfish poisons (PSP) are derivatives of a tetrahydropurine base, which includes saxitoxin, 1-hydroxy saxitoxin, and 11-hydroxy saxitoxin sulfate. These compounds are produced by Gonyaulax catenella and other dinoflagellate species, and the algal toxins (phycotoxins) contaminate shellfish during the filter-feeding process performed by the bivalve molluscs. Increased incidence of algal blooms and outbreaks of PSP food poisonings have been encountered in recent years, resulting in a demand for closely monitoring of shellfish for these toxins. The existing biological and chemical procedures for analysis are reviewed. The mouse bioassay is commonly used in routine analysis, but is nonspecific. Several of the chemical procedures are specific and more sensitive than the mouse bioassay. The disadvantage, however, seems to be that not all known PSP compounds can be quantitiatively measured by any single chemical procedure.