Abstract

Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) is a gastrointestinal disease caused by fat-soluble polyether toxins produced by dinoflagellates and accumulated in shellfish. Up to the present, only four fat-soluble polyethers have been known as diarrhetic shellfish toxins. Among them,*** Okadaic acid, Dinophysistoxin-1, Dinophysistoxin-2 and Dinophysistoxin-3. Outbreaks associated with DSP have occurred in the Chilean Patagonia fjords since 1970. Native people, who live in small communities close to the southern fjords, smoke fresh shellfish. During this popular smoking procedure, they impregnate the shellfish with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, as incomplete combustion products, which are potent carcinogenic compounds, this product is sold in local markets without phycotoxins analysis or inclusion in any monitoring program. The present paper shows, DSP phycotoxins quantitation, using high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescent and mass spectrometric detection and the measurements of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by gas chromatography with mass detection, in smoked shellfish samples. The presence of Dinophysistoxin-3, the Dinophysistoxin-1 ester (7-O-acyl-derivatives of dinophysistoxin-1), was assessed in all shellfish samples analyzed. The 7-OH in Dinophysistoxin-1 was esterified with palmitic fatty acid. The shellfish meat contains seven polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, among them fluoranthene, phenanthrene, anthracene, pyrene and benzo[a]pyrene. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed four of the six most frequent carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons reported. The content of benzo[a]pyrene in the Razor Clam and Ribbed Mussel were 78.61 and 4.94 ng/g of shellfish dry weight, respectively. In both cases the benzo[a]pyrene amounts were greater than the acceptable tolerance limits of 1 ?g/kg of sample. The Razor Clam samples also show amount further above the maximum label regulated by FAO/WHO (10 ?g/kg). The presence of both type of compounds in the smoked shellfish samples analyzed, correspond to a dangerous combination, where the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are carcinogenic compounds by themselves and DTX-1, is a potent tumor promoter. © 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.