title: Removal of toxin (tetrodotoxin) from puffer ovary by traditional fermentation.
abstract: The amounts of puffer toxin (tetrodotoxin, TTX) extracted from the fresh and the traditional Japanese salted and fermented "Nukazuke" and "Kasuzuke" ovaries of Takifugu stictonotus (T. stictonotus) were quantitatively analyzed in the voltage-dependent sodium current (I(Na)) recorded from mechanically dissociated single rat hippocampal CA1 neurons. The amount of TTX contained in "Nukazuke" and "Kasuzuke" ovaries decreased to 1/50-1/90 times of that of fresh ovary during a salted and successive fermented period over a few years. The final toxin concentration after fermentation was almost close to the TTX level extracted from T. Rubripes" fresh muscle that is normally eaten. It was concluded that the fermented "Nukazuke" and "Kasuzuke" ovaries of puffer fish  T. Stictonotus are safe and harmless as food.
authors: Research Division for Life Science, Kumamoto Health Science University, 325 Izumi-machi, Kitaku, Kumamoto 861-5598, Japan. anraku@kumamoto-hsu.ac.jp
authors: Kensaku
authors: K
authors: Anraku
authors: Kiku
authors: K
authors: Nonaka
authors: Toshitaka
authors: T
authors: Yamaga
authors: Takatoshi
authors: T
authors: Yamamoto
authors: Min-Chul
authors: MC
authors: Shin
authors: Masahito
authors: M
authors: Wakita
authors: Ayaka
authors: A
authors: Hamamoto
authors: Norio
authors: N
authors: Akaike
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005260:Female; D005285:Fermentation; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008658:Inactivation, Metabolic; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D010053:Ovary / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D026941:Sodium Channel Blockers / Q000633:toxicity; D015222:Sodium Channels / Q000187:drug effects; D023721:Tetraodontiformes / Q000502:physiology*; D013779:Tetrodotoxin / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity; D014020:Tissue Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D026941:Sodium Channel Blockers; D015222:Sodium Channels; D014020:Tissue Extracts; D013779:Tetrodotoxin