Abstract
PARALYTIC shellfish poison (PSP) is a potent toxin, of small molecular weight (C10H17N7O4.2HCl), which is produced by the dinoflagellate Gonyaulax catenella and which is concentrated, with no ill effects, in bivalves that use the Gonyaulax as a food source1. Human ingestion of PSP results in paralytic poisoning and occasionally death2. Mouse bioassay is nowadays used for the detection of PSP in contaminated bivalves. This test, however, is not specific, as other marine toxins, such as puffer fish poison (tetradotoxin), produce similar paralytic symptoms in mice3. Recently, PSP was shown to be haptenic when conjugated to proteins by formaldehyde condensation4.
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JOHNSON, H., MULBERRY, G. Paralytic Shellfish Poison : Serological Assay by Passive Haemagglutination and Bentonite Flocculations. Nature 211, 747–748 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1038/211747b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/211747b0
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