Food Poisoning due to Ingestion of Goby Yongeichthys nebulosus Forsskal
SHIN-JUNG LIN1, CHAO-AN CHENG2, YUNG-HSIANG TSAI2, CHIH-HSING SA3, JOU-FANG DENG3 AND DENG-FWU HWANG2
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Department of Food Health, Deh-Yu Junior College of Nursing, Keelung, Taiwan, R.O.C.
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Department of Marine Food Science, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan, R.O.C.
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Clinical Toxicology, Department of Medicine, Veterans Division of General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
ABSTRACT
A paralytic food poisoning incident due to ingestion of the goby Yongeichthys nebulosus occurred in Shinchu County, Taiwan , in June 1995. The couple poisoned had symptoms which were marked by severe numbness of the lips, vomiting and impaired breathing. Three uneaten fish specimens were dissected into muscle, head and viscera, and analyzed for toxicity. Using a tetrodotoxin bioassay the fish showed the highest toxicity of 24, 120 and 84 mouse units per gram (MU/g) in muscle, head and viscera tissues, respectively. The fish toxin was combined and purified by Diaflo YM-1 membrane ultrafiltration and Bio-Gel P-2 chromatography. The analyses of purified toxin by electrophoresis, high performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy indicated that the causative toxic agents were tetrodotoxin and a related substance anhydrotetrodotoxin.
Key words: Goby, tetrodotoxin, anhydrotetrodotoxin, food poisoning