• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.465-471
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• 2012

To compare the accumulation of paralytic shellfish poison (PSP) in different marine organisms, the occurrence and variation of PSP were surveyed in blue mussel Mytilus edulis, oyster Crassostrea gigas, short neck clam Ruditapes philippinarum, bay scallop Argopecten irradians, and warty sea squirt Styela clava collected from Jinhae Bay, Korea, in 2005 and 2006 year. We also investigated the ability of the blue mussel to detoxify PSP by relaying and depuration (via the water flow or water circulation system). In the marine organisms examined, PSP levels were the highest in blue mussel, followed in order by bay scallop, oyster, short neck clam, and warty sea squirt. Comparing the maximum PSP levels in the bivalve species examined in 2005 and 2006, PSP in blue mussel was 1.6-2.0, 4.0-5.9, and 5.1-6.0 times higher than in bay scallop, oyster, and short neck clam, respectively. Therefore, blue mussel could be useful as a bioindicator for PSP monitoring. With the increasing PSP levels in blue mussel in 2006, the proportion of PSP in its digestive gland increased to 95.1% when the maximum level was detected from the whole tissues of blue mussel on May 29. Subsequently, the PSP proportion in the digestive gland decreased as the PSP level in whole tissue decreased. The detoxification of PSP in blue mussel was greatest with relaying, followed by the water flow, and water circulation systems. Relaying decreased the PSP level below the regulatory limit of $80{\mu}g$/100 g after 2 days in low toxic sample with $124{\mu}g$/100 g, and after 7 days in high toxic sample with $401{\mu}g$/100 g. During depuration in the blue mussel with $401{\mu}g$/100 g via the water flow system, the PSP amounts in the digestive gland decreased by about 50% after 1 day, and about 77% after 7 days. In contrast, the PSP amounts in the soft body, gill, and mantle did not change significantly with depuration.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.293-299
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• 1987

At various times and places all over the world men have become ill and some have died after eating shellfish that were intoxicated with paralytic shellfish poison(PSP) caused by Protogonyaulax spp. In late March, 1986, two persons were dead by ingesting wild sea mussels, Mytilur edulis, grown at bottom of an anchored waste ship to be dismantled at Gamchun Bay, Pusan, Korea. The samples were collected from the bottom of the ship during April $1\~April$ 8 of the year to find the cause of the food poisoning accident. The toxicity was estimated by bioassay with ICR male mouse, while the toxins were extracted and characterized. The toxins were extracted with acidified $80\%$ ethanol. The extract was defatted three times with dichloromethane, treated with activated charcoal, and then purified by chromatography on Bio-Gel P-2 and Bio-Rex 70. The toxic fractions obtained were analysed by cellulose acetate membrane electrophoresis, thin layer chromatography and high performance liquid chromatogaphy. The range and the average of PSP-toxicity of the samples were $132\~295\;MU/g$, 203 MU/g respectively. The amount of PSP was $26.4\~58.9{\mu}g/g$ of whole meat in range and $40.6{\mu}g/g$ in average. The toxicity of the digestive gland of the samples was 9 times higher than that of edible meat (except digestive gland) as $439\~979MU/g$, and it was about $70\%$ in total toxin. The compositional analytical results of the paralytic shellfish toxin, Gonyautoxin $1\~4$ were the major part of the PSP and Saxitoxin and neosaxitoxin were detected as the minor component. It was concluded that the food poisoning accident was caused not by Saxitoxins but by Gonyautoxins.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 1986

The authors carried out paralytic shellfish poison bioassay on the 9 kinds of shellfishes collected from Pusan and Kyungnam areas of Korea from April to July, 1986. The areas are the main producing district of fisheries in Korea and the samples were collected from their producing sites-natural, cultured and marketed. There were little or no PSP in the majority of the shellfishes, but 3 natural (Pusan Il-Kwang $700{\mu}g$, Koje Okpo $648{\mu}g$, Chungmoo Madong $124{\mu}g/100gm$ meat) and 1 marketed (Pusan Chakalchi $490{\mu}g/100gm$ meat) blue mussels contained relatively high PSP only in April. It is considered that there will be a possibility of paralytic shellfish poisoning, and control program for preventing the poisoning is necessary in Korea.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.123-129
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• 1988

The toxicity of bivalves in the Korean waters was investigated during 1987-1988. The toxicity of paralytic shellfish poison (PSP) was found in the sea mussels (Mytilus edulis galloprovincialis, M. corsucus), scallops (Patinopecten yessoensis, Chlamys farreri), tellin (Peronidia venulosa) and venus clam (Ruditapes philippinarum) among the 28 species screened. The toxicity in mussels, scallop (C. farreri) and venus clam was mainly confirmed from the samples collected around Jindong Bay in the southern coast of the peninsula, whereas the toxicities of tellin and scallop (P. yessoensis) were found in the vicinity of Pohang in the east coast. Samples from the west coast showed low levels of toxicity than those from the east arid south coasts. Although it varied with the regions, the toxicity was detected mainly during April to June, exceptionally during May to August in Pohang. The levels of toxicity were generally below the criteria of 4 mouse unit (MU)/g edible portion in foreign countries, with few exceptions.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.335-342
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• 2017

Oysters Crassostrea gigas are a globally popular shellfish for human consumption. As filter-feeding bivalve mollusks, oysters may harbor many microorganisms and chemicals that could pose potential human health risks. The objective of this study was to investigate the suitability of cultured oysters for raw consumption or use in seafood products by measuring concentrations of harmful microorganisms and chemicals in their flesh. Microbial concentrations in cultured oysters were found to be: $1.0{\times}10^2-6.0{\times}10^4CFU/g$ (viable cell counts), not detected $(ND)-5.4{\times}10^3CFU/g$ (coliform bacteria), $ND-1.3{\times}10^2CFU/g$ (E. coli), and $ND-4.6{\times}10^3CFU/g$ (Vibrio parahaemolyticus). Other pathogenic bacteria, including Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella spp., were not detected in any samples. Heavy metal concentrations of cultured oysters were ND-0.239 mg/kg (total mercury), ND-1.091 mg/kg (lead), ND-0.968 mg/kg (cadmium). The concentrations of benzo(a)pyrene ranged from $0.280-0.880{\mu}g/kg$. Paralytic shellfish poison ranged from ND-0.58 mg/kg, while diarrhetic shellfish poison was not detected. No radioactivity was detected. These results suggest that oysters intended for raw consumption or use in seafood products should be subjected to chemical and biological controls.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.241-246
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• 2019

To understand the characteristics of paralytic shellfish poisoning in a major production area of the bay scallop Argopecten irradians in Korea, the seasonal variation and anatomical distribution of paralytic shellfish toxin (PST) were determined in bay scallops collected from the Gyeongnam coast of Korea from March to May 2018. PST levels in bay scallops in the survey area showed remarkable seasonal variation. PST was first detected at a level of 0.42 mg/kg on April 2, 2018, and the highest toxin level (3.15 mg/kg) was recorded on April 12. Among the tissues of bay scallops, the highest proportion of PST was found in the viscera ($54.9%{\pm}17.8%$), followed by the adductor ($22.8%{\pm}10.9%$), gonads ($8.9%{\pm}4.6%$), gills ($7.1%{\pm}3.7%$), and mantle ($6.3%{\pm}.8%$). In addition, with higher PST levels in the whole tissues of bay scallops, the proportion of PST in the viscera increased, whereas those in the mantle, gill, and gonad tissues decreased. In a high-toxicity group with more than 2.0 mg/kg PST in the whole tissues, the proportion of PST in the viscera was $71.8%{\pm}6.7%$.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.120-129
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• 2017

This study assessed the safety of raw oysters Crassostrea gigas for consumption during processing in a processing plant. Bacterial contamination (e.g., viable cell counts, coliform groups, Escherichia. coli and pathogenic bacteria) and chemical contamination (e.g., heavy metals and shellfish toxins) were measured on raw oysters, a processing equipment, employees and work areas. No total mercury, lead, paralytic shellfish poison, diarrheic shellfish poison or norovirus was detected in any post-harvested oyster samples. However, the cadmium level ranged from 0.1-0.2 mg/kg. The viable cell count, E. coli and coliform group levels in post-harvested oysters ranged from 4.00-4.54 log CFU/g, ND-210 MPN/100 g and 110-410 MPN/100 g, respectively. The viable contaminating cell counts on employees, equipment and work areas were in the range of $0.90-3.46log\;CFU/100cm^2$. Airborne bacteria in the work areas ranged from 0.60 to 1.81 log CFU/plate/15 min. Thus, no significant health risks were detected in the processing plant.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.915-923
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• 2005

We monitored paralytic shellfish poison (PSP) by HPLC method in shellfishes including a sea squirt, and its products produced in domestic and imported, total 35 species, 850 samples, collected at 9 cities such as Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Ulsan, Pohang, Masan, Tongyeong, Geoje and Sacheon, 10 times by month (2 times in April and May) from March to October, 2004. PSPs were detected in a few raw samples on March, and it showed highest toxic ratio $(72.9\%)$ on third week of April (51 samples toxic in total 70 samples) and decreased suddenly to $2.4\%$ on third week of May. After then, PSPs were detected in a few samples, sporadically, and disappeared after August. Most raw shellfishes in the market were safe from PSP, showing the toxicity below 1 MU/g (quarantine level 4.0 MU/g), except oyster collected on April at Masan (1.9 MU/g), blue mussel on April (1.8 MU/g) and purplish washington clam on May at Sacheon (2.1 MU/g). However, it was strongly suggested to survey and under control for the imported scallops and ark shells which showed highly toxic in the quarantine level on May, July, even September. PSP were not detectable in the all shellfish products collected on May, July and September, except 2 boiled and dried mussels contained trace amount (0.01 MU/g), and all those products were safe as below quarantine toxin level (4.0 MU/g).

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.861-869
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• 2020

This study was conducted to investigate the suitability of frozen oysters as a raw material for the preparation of seafood products by measuring the concentrations of harmful microorganisms and chemicals in thawed flesh. The microbial concentrations in thawed oysters were 2.3-5.0 log CFU/g for viable cell counts, not detected (ND)-1.0 log CFU/g for coliform bacteria, and ND for Escherichia coli and pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC), and Clostridium perfringens. In frozen oysters, the heavy metal concentration for viable cell counts was ND-0.030 mg/kg, for lead was ND-0.393 mg/kg, and for cadmium was 0.021-0.597 mg/kg. Benzo(a)pyrene, shellfish poison (paralytic shellfish and diarrhetic shellfish poisons), and radioactivity were not detected in the thawed oysters. These results suggest that frozen oysters can be safely used as a raw material for the preparation of seafood products.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.113-126
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• 1988

Paralytic shellfish poison(PSP) accmulate in shellfish as a result of feeding toxic dinoflagellates. The shellfish do not seem to be harmed by the toxins, but become toxic to humans and other animals that feed on them. The purpose of this study was to investigate the distribution and changes of PSP by species of shellfish, collected area and collected month. Also, the correlation between PSP and toxic dinoflagellate, Protogonyaulax tamarensis, was investigated. Five hundred and six samples of 13 kinds of shellfish for PSP bioassay were collected at the shellfish growing area of Pusan, Masan, Chungmu, $Samch\check{o}npo, Y\check{o}su, Mokpo and Daech\check{o}n$ located in South Korea during the study period from May, 1985 to Octcber, 1987. Most of the samples submitted were free from PSP except sea mussel, short - necked clam and ark shell. Among the intoxicated samples, PSP was most often detected in sea mussel. PSP was detected mainly in spring$(February\~May)$ in the southern coast of Korea. In case of Pusan, exceptionally, toxic sea mussel have been found even June and July in 1987. The toxicity score of toxic shellfishes examined was ranged from 23.44 to $150.26{\mu}g/100g$ of edible meat and toxicity of sea mussel was higher than other toxic shellfishes. By the study of anatomical distribution of PSP in sea mussel collected at Masan in Febuary and March, 1986, the toxin accumulated in digestive gland was about $70\%$ of all. There was no significant correlation between toxicity of sea mussel and cell numbers of P. tamarensis that one of the causitive organism of PSP during the studying period in Masan area. There was almost no difference in toxicity of sea mussel by water depth of collection, but toxicity of surface shellfish was a little higher than those of 3.5, and 7.0m depth.