Toxins from Adriatic blue mussels. A decade of studies
P. Ciminiello, C. Dell'Aversano, E. Fattorusso, M. Forino, and S. Magno
Dipartimento di Chimica delle Sostanze Naturali, Università
di Napoli “Federico II”, via D. Montesano, 49, 80131 Napoli,
Italy
Abstract: A research program was initiated in 1990
to carefully examine the toxin profiles in mussels from the northern
Adriatic Sea. Since then, a number of polyether toxins have been isolated
and characterized, some of which represent new additions to the diarrhetic
shellfish poisoning (DSP) class of biotoxins and seem to be peculiar
to the Adriatic Sea. During our investigation of toxic Adriatic mussels,
we also isolated a new type of toxin, whose structure was elucidated
by extensive use of 1D and 2D NMR techniques. Some of them could represent
a further alarm for public health owing to their cytotoxic activity.
The recent application of liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS)
methods for detection of Adriatic marine biotoxins allowed us to hasten
the analysis of toxic samples and to advance effective structural hypothesis
even when full structure elucidation of new toxins by NMR spectroscopy
is hampered by the limited amount of available material.
*Pure Appl.Chem. 75,
141�419 (2003). An issue of reviews and research papers based on
lectures presented at the 23rd IUPAC International Symposium on the
Chemistry of Natural Products, Florence, Italy, 28 July � 2 August 2002.
Page last modified 15 April 2003.
Copyright © 2003 International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.
Questions or comments about IUPAC, please contact, the Secretariat.
Questions regarding the website, please contact web
manager.