Abstract
Ciguatoxin-like, scaritoxin-like and other unidentified lipid-soluble toxins were detected in a specimen of Scomberomorus commersoni captured in sub-tropical Queensland. The fish was from a batch that had been involved in human poisonings. The ciguatoxin-like substance made a greater contribution to the total toxicity than did the scaritoxin-like substance. Water-soluble toxins were also present. The most important of these in terms of contribution to total toxicity was unidentified toxic material present in fractions eluted from a silicic acid column with 100% methanol or methanol:water (1:1). After TLC this material yielded a spot positive for alkaloids. Maitotoxin was also detected among the water-soluble toxins. The lethal potency of the fish flesh approximated 27.3 MU/100 g of flesh with water-soluble toxins contributing to a greater extent than the lipid-soluble toxins. (A MU is defined as the minimum amount of toxic material expressed in g required to kill a 20 g mouse within 24 hr after i.p. injection.) The 15 kg fish studied contained a total of approximately 4095 MU. The presence of several water-soluble and lipid-soluble toxins in the fish has implications for the detection of such ciguateric fishes and for the diagnosis and treatment of poisonings stemming from ingestion of these fishes.
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