First Evidence of the Presence of Anatoxin-A in Sea Figs Associated with Human Food Poisonings in France.

Ronel Biré,Vincent Hort,Inès Dom,Jorge Diogène,Marina Nicolas,Rodolphe Lemée,Luc De Haro,Corinne Schmitt,Thomas Bertin

doi:10.3390/md18060285

Abstract

From January 2011 to March 2018, 26 patients aged from 20 to 80 years old reported being sick in France after eating sea figs of the genus Microcosmus. The patients had symptoms evoking a cerebellar syndrome: blurred or double vision, ataxia and dizziness, asthenia, headache, muscle cramps, paresthesia and digestive disorders (nausea, vomiting and diarrhea). Three of the 18 food poisoning events recorded by the Poison Control Center in Marseille and involving four patients were further investigated as the meal leftovers were collected and analyzed. A previous study ruled out the presence of the regulated lipophilic marine toxins after high-resolution mass spectrometry, but further analyses were required to look for hydrophilic cyanotoxins. The sea fig leftovers from food poisoning case Numbers 1 (January 2011), 6 (December 2012) and 17 (March 2018) of this published case series were analyzed by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography coupled to low- and high-resolution mass spectrometry to investigate the presence of hydrophilic cyanotoxins. The sea fig samples showed anatoxin-a (ATX-a) concentrations ranging from 193.7 to 1240.2 µg/kg. The sea fig control sample analyzed was also contaminated with ATX-a but in a much smaller concentration (22.5 µg/kg). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of human food poisoning involving ATX-a as the possible causative toxin where the cyanotoxin could be unequivocally identified.

Highlights

Sea figs, called violets, sea squirts, sea lemons or sea potatoes, depending on the country, are marine organisms (Tunicates) belonging to the class of the Ascidians
2020, 18, 285 eluting at 6.7 and 8.1 min. This is the first time ATX-a has been reported in sea figs of the Microcosmus genus. This cyanotoxin was quantified in the meal leftovers of three food poisoning cases in France but might be involved in the other 15 events of the published case series reported in France from 2011 to 2018, as the patients experienced a cerebellar syndrome with similar symptoms [17]
Three of the 18 food poisoning cases reported in France from January 2011 to March 2018 following the consumption of sea figs (Microcosmus) were investigated

Summary

Introduction

Called violets, sea squirts, sea lemons or sea potatoes, depending on the country, are marine organisms (Tunicates) belonging to the class of the Ascidians. Mediterranean coast and are considered as a delicacy by consumers fond of their strong iodine taste. They feed by filtering the seawater, and like other filter-feeding organisms, are likely to accumulate contaminants present in the water column. Others Tunicates were found to be contaminated with marine biotoxins such as STXs and tetrodotoxin [2] or domoic acid (DA) [3].

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion