Tissue distribution of tetrodotoxin and its analogs in Lagocephalus pufferfish collected in Vietnam

• DOI: 10.1007/s12562-020-01460-y
• Publication Date: 2020-10-28T01:02:37Z
• Authors: Linh Vu Thuy; Shigeru Yamamoto; Rika Kawaura; Naoki Takemura; Kohei Yamaki; Ko Yasumoto; Kentaro Takada; Shugo Watabe; Shigeru Sato
• Keywords: Tetrodotoxin

Pufferfish belonging to Lagocephalus are composed of several species, some of which have been recognized to be non-toxic. Although fish belonging to this genus inhabit a wide variety of seawaters from temperate to tropical, toxin distribution has remained unclear. The present study was conducted to thoroughly survey the presence of tetrodotoxin (TTX) and its analogs (TTXs) in the extracts from various tissues of Lagocephalus pufferfish, including L. spadiceus, L. cheesemanii, L. lunaris, and L. inermis collected in Vietnam, by using the TTX enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Analyses using the TTX-ELISA kit demonstrated the presence of a considerable amount of TTXs in the extracts prepared from various tissues and organs of Lagocephalus pufferfish. TTX was detected in gonads and intestine of L. cheesemanii as well as L. lunaris by high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection, but not in any tissues and organs of L. spadiceus. The extract from muscle of L. spadiceus was further subjected to liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses to investigate toxin components, revealing the presence of a high amount of 5,6,11-trideoxyTTX (TDT), but no TTX. Since the toxicity of TDT is very weak, L. spadiceus muscle was regarded to be non-toxic as far as samples collected in the present study are concerned.