Emerging Marine Biotoxins in European Waters: Potential Risks and Analytical Challenges

Abstract

Harmful algal blooms pose a challenge regarding food safety due to their erratic nature and forming circumstances which are yet to be disclosed. The best strategy to protect human consumers is through legislation and monitoring strategies. Global warming and anthropological intervention aided the migration and establishment of emerging toxin producers into Europe’s temperate waters, creating a new threat to human public health. The lack of information, standards, and reference materials delay effective solutions, being a matter of urgent resolution. In this work, the recent findings of the presence of emerging azaspiracids, spirolildes, pinnatoxins, gymnodimines, palitoxins, ciguatoxins, brevetoxins, and tetrodotoxins on European Coasts are addressed. The information concerning emerging toxins such as new matrices, locations, and toxicity assays is paramount to set the risk assessment guidelines, regulatory levels, and analytical methodology that would protect the consumers.

First Report of Pinnatoxin-G (PnTX-G) in a Marine–Coastal Area of the Adriatic Sea Associated with the Presence of the Dinoflagellate Vulcanodinium rugosum

“…The emergence of new biotoxins can be attributed to numerous factors, some of which are not fully understood. Global warming and anthropogenic interventions have facilitated the migration and establishment of emergent toxin producers into Europe’s temperate waters, posing a new threat to public health [ 10 ].…”

“…PnTX-H was traced to the South China Sea from a culture of V. rugosum [ 8 ]. Within Europe, PnTXs are deemed emerging marine biotoxins, alongside 40 other compounds, including spirolides, palytoxins, ciguatoxins, tetrodotoxins, and brevetoxins, whose activities are not yet fully understood [ 9 , 10 ]. V. rugosum , identified in 2011 [ 11 , 12 , 13 ], is currently the sole confirmed algal producer of PnTXs.…”

Ciguatera Fish Poisoning in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean: Reconciling the Multiplicity of Ciguatoxins and Analytical Chemistry Approach for Public Health Safety

“…caught near the Selvagens Islands (Portugal) in 2008 [ 107 ], and many ciguatoxin-positive fish from the Madeira and Selvagens Archipelagos [ 113 ]. The influence of climate change are expected to bring ciguatera closer to Europe [ 6 , 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 ]. Reflecting this increasing risk in ciguatera in Europe, the remainder of this review provides an update on the chemical and biochemical properties of ciguatoxins in the Atlantic Ocean, and the potential of analytical chemistry to mitigate the public health impacts and advance our knowledge of the origin and biotransformation of C-CTXs.…”

Contribution of Mass Spectrometry to the Advances in Risk Characterization of Marine Biotoxins: Towards the Characterization of Metabolites Implied in Human Intoxications

“…In recent decades the proliferation of toxic phytoplankton has been representing a global risk affecting the marine environment and public health [ 1 , 2 ]. This phenomenon is known as harmful algal blooms (HABs).…”