Tropical marine species - source of dangerous toxins

Abstract

Saxitoxin (STX) and tetrodotoxin (TTX) are two of the most potent marine neurotoxins known. They are specific to some tropical marine species, but because of the global warming аand the temperature shift they have begun moving to different areas. Fugu fish has been seen in Croatia in the southern part of the Adriatic coast. Both can be used as a means for suicide and murder. STX is included in Schedule 1 of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which made it attractive for many government agencies and no longer interesting for toxinologists and seafood producers. TTX is known as the ` fugu` (puffer fish) poison and also as the main agent in Haitian voodoo zombification rituals. However, intentional intoxications by STX and TTX are often not as toxic as badly prepared fugu meals or saxitoxin- infested shellfish. A precise diagnosis can determine whether a victim has been intentionally intoxicated. At the cellular level STX and TTX have an identical action - they block the passage of sodium ions upon the same site of the voltage-gated sodium channel. Their chief effect is to produce a muscular weakness that may progress to total paralysis, but sensory disturbances are also common. Both poisons have a direct paralyzing effect on skeletal (striated) muscles as well as on nerve fibers. Death due to respiratory failure may not always be the outcome, but rather an incapacitation. The treatment of intoxication by STX and TTX is based on gastric evacuation, symptomatic relief and the body`s natural recovery mechanisms. Both toxins have some potential as pharmaceutical agents, but they are still associated with small animal experiments and need more examination and financing to advance.