Identification of okadaic acid from a Caribbean dinoflagellate, Prorocentrum concavum.
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.
Dickey
R W
RW
Fishery Research Branch, Food and Drug Administration, Dauphin Island, AL 36528.
Bobzin
S C
SC
Faulkner
D J
DJ
Bencsath
F A
FA
Andrzejewski
D
D
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
D004988:Ethers, Cyclic; D014662:Vasoconstrictor Agents; D019319:Okadaic Acid