Distribution of Domoic Acid In Seaweeds Occurring In Kagoshima, Southern Japan

Abstract

The anthelminthic principle in the red alga Chondria armata was isolated and designated “domoic acid” by Daigo¹. Later, the sale of this amino acid, as well as L-kainic acid, as an anthelminthic, was prohibited. Since then, not much attention had been paid to domoic acid except as an excitatory amino acid. However, in 1987 a food poisoning incident due to the ingestion of cultured mussels Mytilus edulis occurred in Eastern Canada². The main symptoms of one hundred seven persons poisoned were gastrointestinal and neurological disorders. Severely affected patients suffered from memory loss (“amnesic shellfish poison”; ASP), a special characteristic of this poisoning. Four victims died. The causative agent was shown to be the excitatory amino acid domoic acid, which was present in high concentration in the digestive gland of the cultured mussel. It appeared that the domoic acid came from the diatom Nitzschia pungens forma multiseries which occurred as a “red tide” and on which the mussel fed.