Chapter 8
Defining a Sampling Strategy for Okadaic
Acid (OA) Toxins in Shellfish to Determine
the Human Health Status of a Growing Area
Nathalie Wesolek, Franc ¸ois-Gilles Carpentier, Dominique Parent-Massin,
and Alain-Claude Roudot
Introduction
Okadaic acid (OA) and its analogues, the dinophysis toxins (DTX-1, DTX-2,
and DTX-3), form together the group of OA-toxins. They are produced by toxic
dinoflagellates, which are part of the phytoplankton. As bivalve shellfish feed
on phytoplankton, they become contaminated by the presence of these toxic
dinoflagellates in seawater.
OA-group toxins cause Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP) in humans, which
cause dose-dependent symptoms, including diarrhoea, abdominal cramps and sometimes nausea and vomiting. This illness is not fatal and recovery occurs within
3 days, with or without medical treatment. However, OA and DTX-1 have been
shown to be potent tumour promoters, and considering that stomach, small intestine, and colon contain binding sites for OA, they could be implicated in the
worldwide increase of gastrointestinal tumors (Suganua et al. 1988; Fujiki et al.
1988). DSP human poisoning is frequently confused with the illness caused by
N. Wesolek () • F.-G. Carpentier • D. Parent-Massin • A.-C. Roudot
Food and cellular toxicology laboratory, Universit´ e de Bretagne Occidentale (UBO), Brest, France
e-mail: nathalie.wesolek@univ-brest.fr; Carpentier@univ-brest.fr;
dominique.parent-massin@univ-brest.fr; alain-claude.roudot@univ-brest.fr
D. Parent-Massin
Laboratoire de Toxicologie Alimentaire et Cellulaire (EA 3880), Universit´ e Europ´ eenne
de Bretagne – Universit´ e de Bretagne Occidentale (UEB-UBO), 6 Av. Victor Le Gorgeu –
CS93837, 29238 Brest, Cedex 3, France
e-mail: dominique.parent-massin@univ-brest.fr
A.-C. Roudot
Laboratoire de Toxicologie Alimentaire et Cellulaire (EA 3880),
UFR Sciences et Techniques, Universit´ e de Bretagne Occidentale,
6 Av. Victor Le Gorgeu – CS93837, 29238 Brest, Cedex 3, France
e-mail: alain-claude.roudot@univ-brest.fr
G. Sauv´ e (ed.), Molluscan Shellfish Safety, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-6588-7 8,
© Springer ScienceCBusiness Media Dordrecht 2014
89
Defining a Sampling Strategy for Okadaic
Acid (OA) Toxins in Shellfish to Determine
the Human Health Status of a Growing Area
Nathalie Wesolek, Franc ¸ois-Gilles Carpentier, Dominique Parent-Massin,
and Alain-Claude Roudot
Introduction
Okadaic acid (OA) and its analogues, the dinophysis toxins (DTX-1, DTX-2,
and DTX-3), form together the group of OA-toxins. They are produced by toxic
dinoflagellates, which are part of the phytoplankton. As bivalve shellfish feed
on phytoplankton, they become contaminated by the presence of these toxic
dinoflagellates in seawater.
OA-group toxins cause Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP) in humans, which
cause dose-dependent symptoms, including diarrhoea, abdominal cramps and sometimes nausea and vomiting. This illness is not fatal and recovery occurs within
3 days, with or without medical treatment. However, OA and DTX-1 have been
shown to be potent tumour promoters, and considering that stomach, small intestine, and colon contain binding sites for OA, they could be implicated in the
worldwide increase of gastrointestinal tumors (Suganua et al. 1988; Fujiki et al.
1988). DSP human poisoning is frequently confused with the illness caused by
N. Wesolek () • F.-G. Carpentier • D. Parent-Massin • A.-C. Roudot
Food and cellular toxicology laboratory, Universit´ e de Bretagne Occidentale (UBO), Brest, France
e-mail: nathalie.wesolek@univ-brest.fr; Carpentier@univ-brest.fr;
dominique.parent-massin@univ-brest.fr; alain-claude.roudot@univ-brest.fr
D. Parent-Massin
Laboratoire de Toxicologie Alimentaire et Cellulaire (EA 3880), Universit´ e Europ´ eenne
de Bretagne – Universit´ e de Bretagne Occidentale (UEB-UBO), 6 Av. Victor Le Gorgeu –
CS93837, 29238 Brest, Cedex 3, France
e-mail: dominique.parent-massin@univ-brest.fr
A.-C. Roudot
Laboratoire de Toxicologie Alimentaire et Cellulaire (EA 3880),
UFR Sciences et Techniques, Universit´ e de Bretagne Occidentale,
6 Av. Victor Le Gorgeu – CS93837, 29238 Brest, Cedex 3, France
e-mail: alain-claude.roudot@univ-brest.fr
G. Sauv´ e (ed.), Molluscan Shellfish Safety, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-6588-7 8,
© Springer ScienceCBusiness Media Dordrecht 2014
89