Stability of Saxitoxin in 50% Methanol Fecal Extracts and Raw Feces from Bowhead Whales (Balaena mysticetus).

ABSTRACT: In recent decades, harmful algal blooms (HABs) producing paralytic shellfish toxins (including saxitoxin, STX) have become increasingly frequent in the marine waters of Alaska, USA, subjecting Pacific Arctic and subarctic communities and wildlife to increased toxin exposure risks. Research on the risks of HAB toxin exposures to marine mammal health commonly relies on the sampling of marine mammal gastrointestinal (GI) contents to quantify HAB toxins, yet no studies have been published testing the stability of STX in marine mammal GI matrices. An understanding of STX stability in test matrices under storage and handling conditions is imperative to the integrity of toxin quantifications and conclusions drawn thereby. Here, STX stability is characterized in field-collected bowhead whale feces

SUBMITTER: Bowers EK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9505082 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature