Invasive Lionfish (Pterois volitans): A Potential Human Health Threat for Ciguatera Fish Poisoning in Tropical Waters

Abstract

Invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans) have rapidly expanded in the Western Atlantic over the past decade and have had a significant negative impact on reef fish biodiversity, habitat, and community structure, with lionfish out-competing native predators for resources. In an effort to reduce this population explosion, lionfish have been promoted for human consumption in the greater Caribbean region. This study examined whether the geographical expansion of the lionfish into a known ciguatera-endemic region can pose a human health threat for ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP). More than 180 lionfish were collected from waters surrounding the US Virgin Islands throughout 2010 and 2011. Ciguatoxin testing included an in vitro neuroblastoma cytotoxicity assay for composite toxicity assessment of sodium-channel toxins combined with confirmatory liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. A 12% prevalence rate of ciguatoxic lionfish exceeding the FDA guidance level of 0.1 µg/kg C-CTX-1 equivalents was identified in fish from the U.S. Virgin Islands, highlighting a potential consumption risk in this region. This study presents the first evidence that the invasive lionfish, pose a direct human health risk for CFP and highlights the need for awareness and research on this food safety hazard in known endemic areas.

Prevalence of ciguatoxins in lionfish (Pterois spp.) from Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, and Saint Barthélmy Islands (Caribbean)

“…Both the present study and that of Robertson et al (2014) are in agreement over the lack of correlation between body weight and toxin content. Earlier hypothesis regarding the transfer of CTXs through the food web considered larger fish to be more hazardous (Randall, 1958).…”

“…This is in agreement with the study by Robertson et al (2014) that identified CTXs in lionfish in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Therefore, we present further evidence of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 the potential CFP hazard that lionfish may pose in additional areas of the Caribbean.…”

“…Recently, Robertson et al (2014) found a similar prevalence (~40%) of CTXs in lionfish from the U.S. Virgin Islands. Our sampling sites around the island of Saint Barth elemy and those of the U.S. Virgin Islands study are in close proximity (~225 km), as part of the Lesser Antilles chain of islands.…”

“…CTXs are the primary toxins responsible for CFP. Recently, this risk has been confirmed in Pterois volitans from the Caribbean, as this species was shown to contain levels of CTXs capable of causing CFP (Robertson et al, 2014). CTXs are lipid-soluble polyether compounds that are heat-stable and remain toxic in fish after cooking and freezing (Abraham et al, 2012;Hessel, 1961).…”

“…Confirmatory analysis of CTXs in lionfish extracts were performed by LC-MS/MS, as described in previous studies (Dickey, 2008;Robertson et al, 2014) with modification. LC-MS/MS instrumentation consisted of an Agilent 1260 series LC system (Agilent Technologies, Palo Alto, CA, USA) coupled to a QTRAP 4000 triple quadrupole linear ion trap mass spectrometer (Applied Biosystems, Inc., Foster City, CA, USA).…”