ABSTRACT
In Habermann’s early review of the biological activities of palytoxin (PlTX) he began his description as follows, “Among the numerous chemical entities covered by the vague term of toxins, palytoxin is the most curious” (Habermann 1989). Palytoxin is rare among the described marine toxins in that it poses risks to humans through multiple vectors (i.e., both planktivorous and carnivorous fi sh, crustaceans, shellfi sh, and waters containing both Ostreopsis spp. dinofl agellates and coelenterate zoanthids), and through multiple routes of exposure (i.e., oral, inhalational, and dermal) (Deeds and Schwartz 2010). All of this makes the list of potential biological effects after exposure to PlTX and PlTX-like compounds quite extensive. Provided here is a summary of the negative biological effects associated with exposure to PlTX and PlTX-like compounds, focusing on direct human exposures and experiments designed to assess the risks of palytoxin exposure to humans. This summary is not intended to be exhaustive of all of the available literature on PlTX toxicity as researchers have been reviewing
US Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740, USA. Email: jonathan.deeds@fda.hhs.gov
the intriguing biological properties of this compound for over 30 years (see Kaul 1976, Ibrahim and Shier 1987, Habermann 1989). More recently, the occurrence (Munday 2008, Aligizaki et al. 2011), chemistry (Katikou 2008, Kita and Uemura 2008), pharmacology (Vale 2008), cytotoxicity (Bellocci et al. 2011) animal toxicity (Munday 2011), and methods of detection (Ciminiello et al. 2011, Riobó and Franco 2011) for PlTXs have all been reviewed. Despite all of this attention, much remains to be learned about the biological mechanisms involved in palytoxicosis, a serious, potentially life threatening, and sometimes lethal syndrome from exposure to these compounds. This information is critical for the proper assessment of the risks and potential management strategies to reduce human exposure to this group of marine toxins.
