ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the paralytic shellfish poisons, the diarrheic shellfish poisons and, to a lesser extent, the amnesic shellfish poisons, the neurotoxic shellfish poisons, and ciguatera fish toxins. Phycotoxins are toxic components produced by unicellular micro-algae. Human intoxications caused by phycotoxins occur worldwide through consumption of marine fishery products in which the toxins have accumulated. The paralytic shellfish poisons are a group of more than 20 structurally related toxins produced mainly by dinoflagellates belonging to the genus Alexandrium. The fact that marine phycotoxins pose a threat to human health led a number of countries to establish regulations to control the presence of these toxins in seafood. The illness ciguatera has been recognized as a main marine toxicosis in the Caribbean and the Pacific affecting human health and the coastal economy. Cooking has also been recommended as a possible means of detoxifying shellfish contaminated with paralytic shellfish poisons.
