Health risk assessment related to pinnatoxins in French shellfish

Type Article
Date 2020-06
Language English
Author(s) Arnich Nathalie1, 2, 3, Abadie EricORCID4, Delcourt Nicolas5, Fessard Valérie1, 2, 3, Fremy Jean-Marc1, 2, 3, Hort Vincent1, 2, 3, Lagrange Emmeline6, Maignien Thomas1, 2, 3, Molgó Jordi7, Peyrat Marie-Bénédicte1, 2, 3, Vernoux Jean-Paul8, Mattei César9
Affiliation(s) 1 : ANSES (French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety), Risk Assessment Directorate, Maisons-Alfort, France
2 : ANSES (French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety), Toxicology of Contaminants Unit, Fougères, France
3 : ANSES (French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety), Laboratory for Food Safety, Maisons-Alfort, France
4 : IFREMER (French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea), Centre for Marine Biodiversity, Exploitation and Conservation (MARBEC), Sète, France
5 : Poison Control Centre, Toulouse-Purpan University Hospital and Toulouse NeuroImaging Centre (ToNIC), Toulouse, France
6 : Department of Neurology, Reference Center of Neuromuscular Disease, Grenoble University Hospital, France
7 : CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission), CNRS, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
8 : Normandie University, Caen, France
9 : Mitochondrial and Cardiovascular Pathophysiology, UMR CNRS 6015, INSERM U1083, Angers University, Angers, France
Source Toxicon (0041-0101) (Elsevier BV), 2020-06 , Vol. 180 , P. 1-10
DOI 10.1016/j.toxicon.2020.03.007
WOS© Times Cited 25
Keyword(s) Pinnatoxins, Shellfish, Emerging marine biotoxins, Risk assessment
Abstract

Pinnatoxins (PnTXs) are a group of emerging marine biotoxins produced by the benthic dinoflagellate Vulcanodinium rugosum, currently not regulated in Europe or in any other country in the world. In France, PnTXs were detected for the first time in 2011, in mussels from the Ingril lagoon (South of France, Mediterranean coast). Since then, analyses carried out in mussels from this lagoon have shown high concentrations of PnTXs for several months each year. PnTXs have also been detected, to a lesser extent, in mussels from other Mediterranean lagoons and on the Atlantic and Corsican coasts. In the French data, the main analog is PnTX G (low levels of PnTX A are also present in some samples). No cases of PnTXs poisoning in humans have been reported so far in France or anywhere else in the world. In mice, PnTXs induce acute neurotoxic effects, within a few minutes after oral administration. Clinical signs of toxicity include decreased mobility, paralysis of the hind legs, tremors, jumps and breathing difficulties leading to death by respiratory arrest at high doses. The French agency for food safety (ANSES) recently conducted a review of the state of knowledge related to PnTXs and V. rugosum. Based on (i) the clinical signs of toxicity in mice, (ii) the mode of action of PnTXs as nicotinic acetylcholine receptor competitive antagonists and (iii) knowledge on drugs and natural toxins with PnTX-related pharmacology, potential human symptoms have been extrapolated and proposed. In this work, a provisional acute benchmark value for PnTX G of 0.13 μg/kg bw per day has been derived from an oral acute toxicity study in mice. Based on this value and a large shellfish meat portion size of 400g, a concentration lower than 23 μg PnTX G/kg shellfish meat is not expected to result in adverse effects in humans. ANSES recommends taking into account PnTXs in the French official monitoring program for shellfish production and identified data gaps to refine health risk assessment.

Full Text
File Pages Size Access
Author's final draft 33 373 KB Open access
10 532 KB Access on demand
Top of the page

How to cite 

Arnich Nathalie, Abadie Eric, Delcourt Nicolas, Fessard Valérie, Fremy Jean-Marc, Hort Vincent, Lagrange Emmeline, Maignien Thomas, Molgó Jordi, Peyrat Marie-Bénédicte, Vernoux Jean-Paul, Mattei César (2020). Health risk assessment related to pinnatoxins in French shellfish. Toxicon, 180, 1-10. Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2020.03.007 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00619/73105/