Determination of tetrodotoxin (TTX) levels in various tissues of the silver cheeked puffer fish (Lagocephalus sceleratus (Gmelin, 1789)) in Northern Cyprus Sea (Eastern Mediterranean)

Abstract

Lagocephalus sceleratus from the family Tetraodontidae, which is originated from the Red Sea, started to migrate to Mediterranean waters after the opening of the Suez Channel in 1869. Since they do not have any predators in the Mediterranean Sea, their population increased in number very fast. Different tissues of L. sceleratus have tetrodotoxin (TTX). TTX is a non-protein, heat resistant molecule which binds to voltage-gated sodium channels of musculatory and nervous system. Ingestion of the fish can cause a wide variety of effects from mild toxications to death. This study is the first toxicity report of L. sceleratus for Cyprus. Due to the lack of data on toxicity levels of L. sceleratus, and some cases of poising after the ingestion of the fish were the reasons for the start of this work. 24 L. sceleratus were sampled from 3 different areas to represent Northern Cyprus, during one year period. 16 fish samples selected and grouped into 4 fishes per season for toxicity assay. TTX levels from liver, gonad, intestine, muscle and skin tissue homogenate were analyzed with TTX ELISA. Totally 80 tissues were analyzed, 40% of them were above the toxic limit (2.2 μg/g). Most toxic tissue, according to the seasonal average, was found in the summer season and was determined as; Liver ¼ 13.48 μg/g. Most toxic three fishes were found to be female with a length of 45-60 cm. TTX distribution among tissues have similarities with previously published studies from different regions.

The First Substantiated Record of Blunthead Puffer Sphoeroides pachygaster (Müller and Troschel, 1848), From the Coast of Northern Cyprus (Eastern Mediterranean)

“…S. pachygaster was recorded for the first time from Cyprus in 2005(Katsanevakis et al, 2009. For L. sceleratus in Cyprus, gonadosomatic index and toxicity studies are present (Rousou et al, 2014;Akbora et al, 2020). There is a gap of information for the toxicity of S. pachygaster in Cyprus.…”

Concentrations of Tetrodotoxin (TTX) and Its Analogue 4,9-Anhydro TTX in Different Tissues of the Silver-Cheeked Pufferfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus, Gmelin, 1789) Caught in the South-Eastern Mediterranean Sea, Lebanon

“…This latter term was invented to characterize the unidirectional migration of the Indo-Pacific/Red Sea marine species that have crossed the Suez Canal since 1869 towards the Eastern Mediterranean Sea [16], where they have established successful settlements, thus becoming a major component of the Mediterranean Sea marine biota [12,17,18]. More than 300 Lessepsian species from various taxa were brought to the Mediterranean Sea and L. sceleratus is considered among the most dangerous in terms of toxicological, ecological and economic impacts [7,11,16,19]. L. sceleratus has been included in the blacklist as one of the 18 worst invader fish species by the IUCN [20].…”

“…TTX is as much as 1200 times stronger than the well-known poison cyanide [6]. It acts by binding and thus blocking the voltage-gated sodium channels of the musculatory and nervous system [7,8]. Although TTX has been detected in a variety of marine animals [9], 93.7% of intoxications are due to fishes of the order Tetraodontiformes, namely pufferfish, that are the most-known fish genus containing this potent neurotoxin [10].…”

Tetrodotoxin binding protein in the marine puffer fish

“…During different seasons, Akbora et al (2020) examined L. sceleratus' TTX levels. For TTX levels, 80 tissues were examined, of which about 40% were discovered to be toxic (>2.2 μg/g).…”