Since 1994, episodes of mussel contamination by Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) toxins have been reported from various areas along the Italian coasts, although only a few sites have been interested by recurrent closures of shellfish production. According to EU legislation the official method for PSP monitoring is still the mouse bioassay (AOAC 959.08). However, mainly for ethical reasons, its full standardization is carried out only by the National Reference Laboratory which receives samples with detectable amounts of PSP toxins from other labs located in the country and carries out exact quantification. In May 2017 six shellfish samples (Mytilus galloprovincialis and Donax trunculus) collected in the Northern Adriatic Sea (Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia) were delivered to the NRL for confirmation purposes after a first screening using the mouse bioassay gave death times as low as 8 minutes. They were re-analysed using both the standardized mouse bioassay (AOAC 959.08) and by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC-MS/MS) (Boundy et al., 2015; Turner et al., 2015). The employed HILIC-MS/MS method included transitions for the detection of tetrodotoxins (TTXs). The presence of PSP toxins was confirmed only in wedge clams from Porto Alberoni (Lagoon of Venice) at a concentration of 440 µg STXdiHCleq/kg of shellfish meat. Interestingly, the use of the HILIC-MS/MS method allowed also the detection of TTX in a mussel sample collected in Ficariol-San Piero (Lagoon of Marano) at a concentration of 541 µg/kg. No further contamination was recorded in mussel samples collected one week later at the same site. These results were further confirmed using HILIC in combination with high resolution multiple stage mass spectrometry (HILIC-HRMSn, n= 3). The shellfish harvesting area of Ficariol-San Piero is a natural bank classified as “B” (according to the extent of contamination shown by monitoring of E. coli in shellfish flesh). It is located inside the lagoon of Marano, a semi-enclosed tidal basin with few marshes and islands above mean sea level. The lagoon reaches a maximum depth of 1-2 m, with the exception of the main input channels, which reach depths of up to 6 m. Depth is also affected by semi-diurnal tidal fluxes. When TTX was detected in shellfish, water temperature was 19.7 °C and salinity was 33.4 psu. During the contamination episode, harvest from this site was banned by the Competent Authority as a precautionary measure.
FIRST DETECTION OF TETRODOTOXIN IN SHELLFISH FROM NORTHERN ITALY / Pigozzi1, Silvia; Ceredi1, Alfiero; Pompei1, Marinella; Bordin2, Paola; Bille2, Laura; Dell'Aversano, Carmela; Tartaglione, Luciana; Sidari4, Laura; Zanolin4, Bruno; Pelagatti5, Lucia; Ricci6 and Anna Milandri1, Martina. - (2017). (Intervento presentato al convegno Marine and Freshwater Toxins Analysis. Sixth International Symposium. tenutosi a Baiona (Spain) nel 22-25 October 2017).
FIRST DETECTION OF TETRODOTOXIN IN SHELLFISH FROM NORTHERN ITALY
Carmela Dell’Aversano;Luciana Tartaglione;
2017
Abstract
Since 1994, episodes of mussel contamination by Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) toxins have been reported from various areas along the Italian coasts, although only a few sites have been interested by recurrent closures of shellfish production. According to EU legislation the official method for PSP monitoring is still the mouse bioassay (AOAC 959.08). However, mainly for ethical reasons, its full standardization is carried out only by the National Reference Laboratory which receives samples with detectable amounts of PSP toxins from other labs located in the country and carries out exact quantification. In May 2017 six shellfish samples (Mytilus galloprovincialis and Donax trunculus) collected in the Northern Adriatic Sea (Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia) were delivered to the NRL for confirmation purposes after a first screening using the mouse bioassay gave death times as low as 8 minutes. They were re-analysed using both the standardized mouse bioassay (AOAC 959.08) and by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC-MS/MS) (Boundy et al., 2015; Turner et al., 2015). The employed HILIC-MS/MS method included transitions for the detection of tetrodotoxins (TTXs). The presence of PSP toxins was confirmed only in wedge clams from Porto Alberoni (Lagoon of Venice) at a concentration of 440 µg STXdiHCleq/kg of shellfish meat. Interestingly, the use of the HILIC-MS/MS method allowed also the detection of TTX in a mussel sample collected in Ficariol-San Piero (Lagoon of Marano) at a concentration of 541 µg/kg. No further contamination was recorded in mussel samples collected one week later at the same site. These results were further confirmed using HILIC in combination with high resolution multiple stage mass spectrometry (HILIC-HRMSn, n= 3). The shellfish harvesting area of Ficariol-San Piero is a natural bank classified as “B” (according to the extent of contamination shown by monitoring of E. coli in shellfish flesh). It is located inside the lagoon of Marano, a semi-enclosed tidal basin with few marshes and islands above mean sea level. The lagoon reaches a maximum depth of 1-2 m, with the exception of the main input channels, which reach depths of up to 6 m. Depth is also affected by semi-diurnal tidal fluxes. When TTX was detected in shellfish, water temperature was 19.7 °C and salinity was 33.4 psu. During the contamination episode, harvest from this site was banned by the Competent Authority as a precautionary measure.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
