Analysis of nodularin‐R in eider (Somateria mollissima), roach (Rutilus rutilus L.), and flounder (Platichthys flesus L.) liver and muscle samples from the western Gulf of Finland, northern Baltic Sea

Abstract

Nodularin (NODLN) is a cyanobacterial hepatotoxin that may cause toxic effects at very low exposure levels. The NODLN-producing cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena forms massive blooms in the northern Baltic Sea, especially during the summer. We analyzed liver and muscle (edible meat) samples from common eider (Somateria mollissima), roach (Rutilus rutilus L.), and flounder (Platichthys flesus L.) for NODLN-R by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Thirty eiders, 11 roach, and 15 flounders were caught from the western Gulf of Finland between September 2002 and October 2004. Eiders from April to June 2003 were found dead. The majority of samples were analyzed by LC-MS and ELISA from the same sample extracts (water:methanol:n-butanol, 75:20:5, v:v:v). Nodularin was detected in 27 eiders, nine roach, and eight flounders. Eider liver samples contained NODLN up to approximately 200 microg/kg dry weight and muscle samples at approximately 20 microg/kg dry weight, roach liver samples 20 to 900 microg NODLN/kg dry weight and muscle samples 2 to 200 microg NODLN/kg dry weight, and flounder liver samples approximately 5 to 1,100 microg NODLN/kg dry weight and muscle samples up to 100 microg NODLN/kg dry weight. The NODLN concentrations found in individual muscle samples of flounders, eiders, and roach (1-200 microg NODLN/kg dry wt) indicate that screening and risk assessment of NODLN in Baltic Sea edible fish and wildlife are required for the protection of consumer's health.

Occurrence of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxin in the Southern Baltic Proper. Filamentous cyanobacteria versus single-celled picocyanobacteria

“…In flounder, caught before the peak of the toxic bloom, NOD content in the liver was over 30 times higher than in muscles. This finding is in agreement with earlier reports, e.g., by Sipiä et al (2001Sipiä et al ( , 2006, Karlsson et al (2003), and Kankaanpää et al (2005). The authors measured NOD content in flounder liver within the range of 20 to 2,230 ng g -1 , and much lower in muscles (less than 200 ng g -1 ).…”

“…The flounders migrate between the coast and off-shore waters and Macoma baltica constitute a more important element of their diet. The analyses of NOD accumulation in the Baltic fish and mussels confirmed significant differences in NOD content between individual organisms belonging to the same species , Sipiä et al, 2006. In the case of some individual fish, a risk can be posed of exceeding the recommended tolerable daily intake level (TDI) of 0.4 lg kg -2 body weight per day.…”

Planktonic and benthic cyanobacteria of European brackish waters: a perspective on estuaries and brackish seas

“…E-mail: vmvascon@ fc.up.pt Tan, 2007). The cyanobacteria of brackish waters (including estuaries), however, remain under-investigated, particularly in Europe, despite a number of significant contributions (Sivonen et al, 1989;Nehring, 1993;Lehtima¨ki et al, 1994Lehtima¨ki et al, , 1997Lehtima¨ki et al, , 2000Wille´n & Mattson, 1997;Sivonen & Jones, 1999;Sipia¨et al, 2001Sipia¨et al, , 2002Sipia¨et al, , 2006Sipia¨et al, , 2007Sipia¨et al, , 2008Vasconcelos & Cerqueira, 2001;Laamanen et al, 2002;Rocha et al, 2002;Geiss et al, 2003;Hobson & Fallowfield, 2003;Lehtonen et al, 2003;Stal et al, 2003;Sobrino et al, 2004;Herfindal et al, 2005;Kankaanpa¨a¨et al, 2005;Karjalainen et al, 2005Karjalainen et al, , 2007Karlsson et al, 2005;Pere´z & Carrilo, 2005;Surakka et al, 2005;Marino et al, 2006;Mazur-Marzec et al, 2007Paoli et al, 2007;Halinen et al, 2008;Ibelings & Havens, 2008;Jo´z´wiak et al, 2008;Lopes et al, 2010;Oftedal et al, 2010;). This lack of information for brackish-water cyanobacteria is especially significant in relation to the potential for production of new bioactive compounds.…”

Approach for Supporting Food Web Assessments with Multi-Decadal Phytoplankton Community Analyses—Case Baltic Sea

“…In the Baltic Sea, although current knowledge suggests that the transfer rate of phytoplankton toxins through food web is low (Karjalainen et al, 2005(Karjalainen et al, , 2007Setälä et al, 2011), toxic phytoplankton are considered a potential risk for co-occurring organisms, as well as for high-trophic-level consumers through toxin bioaccumulation in the food web (cf. Kuuppo et al, 2006;Sipiä et al, 2006;Setälä et al, 2009Setälä et al, , 2014. In the Baltic Sea, phytoplankton toxins have been found in e.g., copepods (Lehtiniemi et al, 2002;Setälä et al, 2009;Sopanen et al, 2011), bivalves (Sipiä et al, 2001;Setälä et al, 2014), Baltic herring, flounder and roach, as well as eider (Sipiä et al, 2006;Karjalainen et al, 2008) with immediate effects of these compounds including reduced feeding and growth rates in fish larvae (Karjalainen et al, 2007), and even mortality in copepods (Sopanen et al, 2008) and fish (Lindholm and Virtanen, 1992).…”