The Incidence of Marine Toxins and the Associated Seafood Poisoning Episodes in the African Countries of the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea

Abstract

The occurrence of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and bacteria can be one of the great threats to public health due to their ability to produce marine toxins (MTs). The most reported MTs include paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs), amnesic shellfish toxins (ASTs), diarrheic shellfish toxins (DSTs), cyclic imines (CIs), ciguatoxins (CTXs), azaspiracids (AZTs), palytoxin (PlTXs), tetrodotoxins (TTXs) and their analogs, some of them leading to fatal outcomes. MTs have been reported in several marine organisms causing human poisoning incidents since these organisms constitute the food basis of coastal human populations. In African countries of the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, to date, only South Africa has a specific monitoring program for MTs and some other countries count only with respect to centers of seafood poisoning control. Therefore, the aim of this review is to evaluate the occurrence of MTs and associated poisoning episodes as a contribution to public health and monitoring programs as an MT risk assessment tool for this geographic region.

The Diversity of Cyanobacterial Toxins on Structural Characterization, Distribution and Identification: A Systematic Review

“…Investigations have found that the distribution of MCs in freshwater habitats is a matter of concern, and MCs are typically produced by several cyanobacterial genera including Anabaena , Dolichospermum , Geitlerinema, Leptolyngbya , Microcystis , Nostoc , Phormidium and Planktothrix [13]. In addition, MCs have also been found in many marine cyanobacteria [14] such as Spirulina, Synechococcus and Trichodesmium (Table 1).…”

“…More than twelve cyanobacterial toxins have been found in the oceans across the world. MCs have been found in the marine environments of the central Atlantic coast of Portugal, the Canary Islands, the Brazilian coast, the Amvrakikos Gulf, and the Indian Ocean [14]. BMAA was reported from Guam in the western Pacific, and Bermuda in the western region of North Atlantic [52].…”

Determination of Cyanotoxins and Phycotoxins in Seawater and Algae-Based Food Supplements Using Ionic Liquids and Liquid Chromatography with Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

“…Cyanotoxins and phycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by harmful algal blooms of toxic phytoplankton species or photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria (green–blue algae), which are found in both freshwater habitats and marine environments [1]. The toxins are bioaccumulated by marine organisms, meaning that they may enter the human food chain.…”

Heavy Metal/Toxins Detection Using Electronic Tongues

“…Most of the contaminants are non-biodegradable, putting at risk living organisms and human health due to bioaccumulation [3,4]. Within this context, European Union monitoring programs have currently included three groups of toxins: Diarrheic shellfish toxins (DSTs), paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs), and amnesic shellfish toxins (ASTs), and some other lipophilic contaminants [5].…”