Performance of different extraction methods for paralytic shellfish toxins and toxin stability in shellfish during storage.

Abstract

Accurate analysis of paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) in shellfish is important to protect seafood safety and human health. In this study, the performance of different extraction protocols for PSTs from scallop tissues is compared and discussed, including regular extraction solvents hydrochloric acid (HCl) and acetic acid (AcOH) followed by heating and solid-phase extraction (SPE) purification, and a novel technique of matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) without heating. The possible conversion of C1/2 and GTX2/3 standards after heating, and the stability of PSTs in wet scallop tissues stored at -20°C for a 6-month period are also explored. Results showed that the MSPD technique could effectively mitigate matrix interference, but its recoveries of PSTs were significantly lower than those of the HCl and AcOH extraction methods followed by carbon SPE purification. The molar concentrations of M-toxins obtained by the MSPD method were generally lower than those analyzed by the HCl and AcOH extraction methods, which demonstrated a weak chemical conversion of C1/2 and GTX2/3 due to the heating process. Most of the PSTs were relatively stable in scallop tissues during 1-month storage at -20°C, while the concentrations of PSTs in scallop tissues obviously changed after 6 months due to the degradation and transformation of PSTs during long-term storage at -20°C. This work helps improve our understanding of the performance of different extraction methods and the stability of PSTs in scallop tissues stored at -20°C.