title: Amnesic shellfish poisoning toxins in bivalve molluscs in Ireland.
abstract: In December 1999, domoic acid (DA) a potent neurotoxin, responsible for the syndrome Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) was detected for the first time in shellfish harvested in Ireland. Two liquid chromatography (LC) methods were applied to quantify DA in shellfish after sample clean-up using solid-phase extraction (SPE) with strong anion exchange (SAX) cartridges. Toxin detection was achieved using photodiode array ultraviolet (LC-UV) and multiple tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS(n)). DA was identified in four species of bivalve shellfish collected along the west and south coastal regions of the Republic of Ireland. The amount of DA that was present in three species was within EU guideline limits for sale of shellfish (20 microg DA/g); mussels (Mytilus edulis), <1.0 microg DA/g; oysters (Crassostrea edulis), <5.0 microg DA/g and razor clams (Ensis siliqua), <0.3 microg DA/g. However, king scallops (Pecten maximus) posed a significant human health hazard with levels up to 240 microg DA/g total tissues. Most scallop samples (55%) contained DA at levels greater than the regulatory limit. The DA levels in the digestive glands of some samples of scallops were among the highest that have ever been recorded (2,820 microg DA/g).
authors.affiliation: PROTEOBIO, Mass Spectrometry Centre for Proteomics and Biotoxin Research, Department of Chemistry, Cork Institute of Technology, Bishopstown, Cork, Ireland.
authors.forename: Kevin J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: James
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gillman
authors.forename: Mónica Fernández
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Amandi
authors.forename: Américo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: López-Rivera
authors.forename: Patricia Fernández
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Puente
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lehane
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mitrovic
authors.forename: Ambrose
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Furey
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049872:Bivalvia / Q000737:chemistry*; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007494:Ireland; D007608:Kainic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D008387:Marine Toxins / Q000032:analysis*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D012758:Shellfish
chemical_list: D008387:Marine Toxins; C012301:domoic acid; D007608:Kainic Acid