• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.188-193
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• 2013

Anatoxin-a, saxitoxin and neosaxitoxin are produced by Aphanizomenon flos-aquae that is a sort of the cyanobacteria phylum. Therefore, it is not permitted for food materials in Korea. Traditionally, the classification of cyanobacteria has been based on morphological characters such as trichome width, cell size, division planes, shape, and the presence of character such as gas vacuole. But, some diagnostic features, such as gas vacuole or akinetes, can show variation with different environmental or growth conditions and even be lost during cultivation. Therefore, we developed detection method for functional foods containing Aph. flos-aquae by PCR. To design the primer, 16S rRNA region of Aph. flos-aquae, Spirulina laxissima, and Spirulina spp. registered in the GeneBank (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) have been used and for comparative analysis, BioEdit ver. 7.0.9.0. was used. As a result, we was design AFA-F1/AFA-R1 (363 bp) primer for the differentiation Aph. flos-aquae from chlorella, spirulina, green tea, and spinach. Also, it could be distinguished chlorella and spirulina products those are made to contain 1% Aph. flos-aquae.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.71-76
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• 1998

Tissue biosensor for mearsuring sodium channel blockers, such tetrodotoxin(TTX), saxitoxin (STX) and paralytic shellfish poisoning(PSP) consisted of frog bladder membrane, and $Na^{+}$ electrode. The proposed biosensor was applied to determine Chinese drug and dry or wet Porphyra yezonesis $Na^{+}$ channel blockers below the detection limit of the standard mouse bio-assay while the observed detection limit didn't cause human poisoning. The proposed biosensor system may be used for future $Na^{+}$ channel blockers monitoring within the marine environment.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.223-230
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• 2023

Harmful algae blooms have become a serious environmental problem in major river basins in Korea. They are known to produce various algal organic matters (AOMs) including intracellular organic matters (IOMs) and extracellular organic matters (EOMs). Generally AOMs cannot be easily removed by coagulation/flocculation process in conventional drinking water plants. AOMs produced by blue-green algae also include various toxins such as Microcystins, Anatoxin-a, and Saxitoxin known to have harmful effects on living organisms in aquatic environment. In this study, toxic effects of EOMs produced by three different algae species (Microcystis sp., Anabaena sp., and Oscillatoria sp.) on zebrafish were investigated using electroencephalography (EEG) recording method, a technology for recording brain activity. Electroencephalographic changes in zebrafish revealed that a low EOM had a negative effect on zebrafish compared to both Anabaena sp. and Oscillatoria sp. at 30 ppm EOM exposures. This result might be due to Microcystins present in EOMs produced by Microcystis sp. As a result of power spectrum density anallysis, exposure to EOMs produced by Microcystis sp. caused a state of vigilance in zebrafish. This EEG based toxicity test can be used to examine effects of harmful materials at low levels on living organisms in an aquatic system.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.174-180
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• 2020

The mouse bioassay has been used widely for the monitoring of paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) in many countries. However, this method shows low sensitivity and high limit of detection (LOD), as well as it cannot confirm toxic profiles. Recently, LC-MS/MS method was studied for the quantitative of PSTs, however, the method has any problems with unstable retention times by ionization suppression caused by high salt concentration in shellfish extracts. To establish an alternative method for PSTs analysis, we tried to original LC-MS/MS methods adding desalting operation using amorphous graphitized polymer carbon solid-phase extraction cartridges. The method validation was conducted to determine linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification (LOQ), accuracy, and precision in quantifying PSTs. The correlation coefficients for all tested PSTs maintained over 0.999. The LODs and LOQs for all PSTs were about 0.19-1.05 ㎍/kg and 0.58-3.18 ㎍/kg, respectively. The accuracies for PSTs were 95.4-107.7% for saxitoxin group, 97.1-100.9% for gonyautoxin group, 99.0-100.8% for N-sulfocarbamoyl toxin group, and 96.8-104.6% for decarbamoyl toxin group. These results indicate that the modified LC-MS/MS method was appropriate for analyzing the PSTs in shellfish and tunicates.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.625-631
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• 2003

While phytoplankton diversity and productivity in the Southern Ocean has been widely studied in recent years, most attention has been given to elucidating environmental factors that affect the dynamics of micro-plankton (mainly diatoms) and nano-plankton (mainly Phaeocystis antarctica). Only limited effects have been given to studying the occurrence and the potential risks associated with the blooming of dinoflagellates in the relevant waters. This study focused on the appearance and toxicological characteristics of a toxic dinoflagellate, Alexandrium tamarense, identified and isolated from the Drake Passage in a research cruise from November to December 2001 The appearance of A. tamarense in the Southern Ocean indicates the risk of a paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) outbreak there and is therefore of scientific concern. Results showed that while the overall quantity of A. tamarense in water samples from 30meters below the sea surface often comprised less than 0.1% of the total population of phytoplankton, the highest concentration of A. tamarense (20 cells $L^{-1}$) was recorded in the portion of the Southern Ocean between the southern end of South America and the Falkland Islands. Waters near the Polar Front contained the second highest concentrations of 10-15 cells $L^{-1}$. A. tamarense was however rarely found in waters near the southern side of the Polar Front, indicating that cold sea temperatures near the Antarctic ice does not favor the growth of this dinoflagellate. One strain of A. tamarense from this cruise was isolated and cultured for further study in the laboratory. Experiments showed that this strain of A. tamarense has a high tolerance to temperature variations and could survive at temperatures ranging from $5-26^{\circ}C$. This shows the cosmopolitan nature off. tamarense. With regard to the algal toxins produced, this strain of A. tamarense produced mainly C-2 toxins but very little saxitoxin and gonyailtoxin. The toxicological property of this A. tamarense strain coincided with a massive death of penguins in the Falkland Islands in December 2002 to January 2003.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.159-164
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• 2013

The mouse bioassay and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) post-column oxidation method are different methods of quantifying paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins. In this study, we compared their ability to accurately quantify the toxicity levels in two types of field sample (oysters and mussels) with different toxin profiles for routine regulatory monitoring. A total of 72 samples were analyzed by both methods, 44 of which gave negative results, with readings under the limit of detection of the mouse bioassay ($40{\mu}g/100g$ saxitoxin [STX] eq). In 14 oysters, the major toxin components were gonyautoxin (GTX) 1, -2, -3, -4, -5, decarbamoylgonyautoxin-2 (dcGTX2), and decarbamoylsaxitoxin (dcSTX), while 14 mussels tested positive for dcSTX, GTX2, -3, -4, -5, dcGTX2, neosaxitoxin (NEO), STX, and dcSTX. When the results obtained by both methods were compared in two matrices, a better correlation ($r^2=0.9478$) was obtained for mussels than for oysters ($r^2=0.8244$). Additional studies are therefore needed in oysters to investigate the differences in the results obtained by both methods. Importantly, some samples with toxin levels around the legal limit gave inconsistent results using HPLC-based techniques, which could have a strong economic impact due to enforced harvest area closure. It should therefore be determined if all paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins can be quantified accurately by HPLC, and if the uncertainties of the method lead to doubts regarding regulatory limits.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.137-142
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• 2013

To understand critical aspects of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) in a chief area of bivalve production in Korea, seasonal variation in PSP toxins in bivalves collected from Jinhae Bay, Korea in 2009 was surveyed by the pre-column high-performance liquid chromatography oxidation method. We also confirmed the profiles of major bivalves such as oysters Crassostrea gigas and mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis in Jinhae Bay. PSP toxins in the bivalves showed remarkable seasonal variation. PSP toxin levels were detected from April to May in 2009, and the highest total toxin levels at all stations were recorded in May. The major toxins in bivalves were gonyautoxin [GTX] 1&4 and C 1&2; in oysters GTX 2&3 were also detected as major components. GTX 1&4, which showed the highest PSP toxin levels at each station, accounted for the highest proportions of toxin components in mussels and oysters (64.5-71.3% and 41.4-42.4%, respectively). It was also confirmed that the highest toxicity (in ${\mu}g$ saxitoxin [STX] eq/g) was derived from GTX 1&4. The highest total toxicity (in ${\mu}g$ STX eq/g) was approximately 2-8-fold higher in mussels than in oysters collected from the same station. PSP toxin levels in bivalves differed significantly according to the sample collection station. However, the profiles of toxins in the bivalves did not show significant differences during the survey period according to sample collection station. This study shows that PSP toxin levels in some samples from Jinhae Bay were above the regulatory limit in Korea during a specific period in spring.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.293-296
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• 2000

Paralytic shellfish poison (PSP) occurrence and variation in th\ulcorner different bivalve species including oyster,Crassostrea gigas and mussel, Mytilus edulis Jinhae bay Korea from January to December in 1997 were surveyed. And also compositional characteristics of PSP ingredients in the different bivalve species were investigated. PSP in shellfish was detected from late February and increased continuously until the middle of April in Jinhae bay. And after April PSP level had been decreased gradually and the toxicity was not detected by mouse bioassay in the early of June. Of the examined bivalve species, PSP content in the mussel exhibited the highest value and the PSP content in the mussel in the middle of April, PSP high season in Jinhae bay, was 6 times higher than that in the oyster. Gonyautokin (GTX) 1~4 group occupied 59.0~78.8% of whole PSP contents and identified as dominant ingredient in the examined bivalves except oyster. And it is also identified that the PSP toxicity in the tested species were derived from the GTX group. And the dominant ingredient of PSP in the oyster was carbamoyl-N-sulfo-11$\alpha$-hydroxysaxitoxin sulfate(Cl)(37.9%) and neosaxitoxin(neoSTX)(26.2%). But the toxicity of Cl in the tested oyster could be ignorable and most toxicity (80.0%) was derived from saxitoxin (STX) group.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.37 no.12
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• pp.657-667
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• 2015

Cyanobacteria frequently dominate the freshwater phytoplankton community in eutrophic waters. Cyanotoxins can be classified according to toxicity as neurotoxin (Anatoxin-a, Anatoxin-a(s), Saxitoxins) or hepatotoxin (microcystins, nodularin, cylindrospermopsin). Microcystins are present within cyanobacterial cells generally, and they are extracted by the damage of cell membrane. It has been reported that cyanotoxins caused adverse effects and they are acculmulated in aquatic oganisms of lake, river and ocean. In natural, microcystins are removed by biodegradation of microorganisms and/or feeding of predators. However, in process of water treatment, the use of copper sulfate to remove algal cells caused extraction of a mess of microcystins. Microcysitns are removed by physical, chemical and biological methods according to reports. The reduction of nutrients (N and P) inflow is basic method of prevention of cyanobacteria bloom formation. However, it is less effective than investigation because nutrients already present in the eutrophic lake. In natural lake, cyanobacteria bloom are not formed because macrophytes invade from coastal lake by eutrophication. Therefore, a coastal lake has to recover to prevent of cyanobacteria bloom formation.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.360-369
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• 2021

Paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) and tetrodotoxin (TTX) are neurotoxins that display pharmacological activity that is similar to that of specific sodium channel blockers; they are the principle toxins involved in shellfish and puffer fish poisoning. In Korea, puffer fish is a very popular seafood, and several cases of accidental poisoning by TTX have been reported. Therefore, it is necessary to determine whether puffer fish poisoning incidents are caused by PSTs or by TTX. In this study, we used mouse bioassay (MBA) and liquid chromatograph-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to determine the presence of PSTs and TTX in puffer fish from an area near Mireuk-do, Tong-Yeong on the southern coast of Korea from January through March, 2014. The toxicity of PSTs and TTX extracts prepared from three organs of each specimen was analyzed by MBA. Most of the extracts killed mice with typical signs of TTX and PSTs. The LC-MS/MS analysis of seven specimens of Takifugu pardalis and Takifugu niphobles, each divided into muscles, intestines, and liver, were examined for TTX. In T. pardalis, the TTX levels were within the range of 1.3-1.6 ㎍/g in the muscles, 18.8-49.8 ㎍/g in the intestines, and 23.3-96.8 ㎍/g in the liver. In T. niphobles, the TTX levels were within the range of 2.0-4.5 ㎍/g in the muscles, 23.9-71.5 ㎍/g in the intestines, and 28.1-114.8 ㎍/g in the liver. Additionally, the toxicity profile of the detected PSTs revealed that dcGTX3 was the major component in T. pardalis and T. niphobles. When PSTs were calculated as saxitoxin equivalents the levels were all less than 0.5 ㎍/g, which is below the permitted maximum standard of 0.8 ㎍/g. These findings indicate that the toxicity of T. pardalis and T. niphobles from the southern coast of Korea is due mainly to TTX and that PSTs do not exert an effect.