The annual toxicological profiles of two common puffer fish, Takifugu niphobles (Jordan and Snyder) and Takifugu alboplumbeus (Richardson), collected along Hong Kong coastal waters

Abstract

The toxicological profiles of two local common puffer fish, Takifugu niphobles (Jordan and Snyder) and Takifugu alboplumbeus (Richardson), collected in Hong Kong waters were investigated continuously for 14 months (June 1997–August 1998). Their annual spawning seasons (as evident by the enlargement of gonads and presence of eggs in the ovary) were found to be from October to February (four consecutive months) and December to February (two consecutive months), respectively. The toxicities of their internal organs were determined by standard mouse bioassay and expressed in terms of mouse units (MU). The ovary (in both species) and liver (only in T. niphobles) were discovered to be moderately toxic (100–1000 MU/g) in their non-spawning seasons. Whilst all the intestine and skin were weakly toxic (between 10 and 100 MU/g), their flesh, however, was basically non-toxic (less than 10 MU/g) throughout the whole year. The testes, which were only developed in their spawning seasons, were also non-toxic. This study showed that the toxicological profiles of both of the two species had prominent seasonal patterns which were highly related to their spawning seasons. Contrary to the most common belief, both species were discovered to be relatively less toxic during their spawning seasons.