title: Identification of okadaic acid from a Caribbean dinoflagellate, Prorocentrum concavum.
abstract: Lipid-soluble toxins were isolated from a Caribbean strain of the epiphytic dinoflagellate Prorocentrum concavum Fukuyo. The major lipid-soluble toxin (LD50 = 210 +/- 15 micrograms/kg i.p. in mice) was purified by normal and reversed-phase column chromatography and characterized by 1H NMR and mass spectrometry. The toxin was identified as okadaic acid by interpretation of the spectral data. Okadaic acid was previously identified as a toxic component of the related species P. lima (Ehrenberg) Dodge. The finding of okadaic acid production in P. concavum and P. lima, abundant primary producers in the ciguatera-endemic Caribbean, suggests that the role of this toxin in the etiology of ciguatera may be more significant than previously thought.
authors.affiliation: Fishery Research Branch, Food and Drug Administration, Dauphin Island, AL 36528.
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Dickey
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Bobzin
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Faulkner
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Bencsath
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Andrzejewski
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004141:Dinoflagellida / Q000032:analysis*; D004988:Ethers, Cyclic / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000633:toxicity; D005260:Female; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D051379:Mice; D019319:Okadaic Acid; D014662:Vasoconstrictor Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D004988:Ethers, Cyclic; D014662:Vasoconstrictor Agents; D019319:Okadaic Acid