Phycotoxins

In a previous edition of this book (1), we discussed the

analytical methods to detect and quantify paralytic

and diarrheic shellfish toxins. In the past 6 years, the

overall picture on the phycotoxin field has completely

changed in Europe. There are three factors that require

an update on this topic. In the first place, the number

of new toxins in Europe are now much higher, not only

regarding their number, but also regarding the type of

toxins. This is a critical aspect of the phycotoxin

research field, which requires not only to adapt to the

situation from a monitoring point of view, but also to

deal with the toxic and human health implications that

represent the presence of new and dangerous toxins.

Aside from diarrheic shellfish toxins (or poisons)

(DSP), and paralytic shellfish toxins (or poisons)

(PSP), domoic acid has erupted in Europe (amnesic

shellfish poison (ASP), and several new toxins have

been discovered on the coasts of Europe, namely,

azaspiracids, yessotoxins, and pectenotoxins. In the

second place, the advance in technology provides now

a much better scenario to cope with the detection and

monitoring problem. In the third place, the legislation

in the European Union has changed to adapt to the

new situation regarding new technology and new

toxins (2). Essentially, the EU now accepts either

validated chemical methods or functional assays as an

option to monitor phycotoxins of the diarrheic group,

yessotoxins, pectenotoxins, and azaspiracids (3). This

is a very important milestone, since this opens a door