Toxicity of Muscle and Other Organs of Five Species of Puffer Collected from the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Area of Japan

Abstract

Analyses of tetrodotoxin content were carried out on the following five species of puffer fish collected from Pacific coast of Tohoku area of Japan: Takifugu pardalis, T. poecilonotus, T. porphreus, T. vermicularis, and T. stictonotus. The toxin contents in the muscle of T. poecilonotus were frequently higher than 50 MU/g, with the highest of 350 MU/g and most of the specimens with high muscle toxicity were female. Lethality of the muscle in other four species was less significant, with the exception of a few specimens of T. paradalis. Toxin concentration in the liver and ovary of two species, T. poecilonotus and T. pardalis, were extremely high. The highest value 40,000 MU/g was found in the liver of T. pardalis. In contrast, the same organs of the deeper dwellant T. porphreus were less toxic. The results of this study point out to the need to pay a special attention for the commercial use of T. poecilonotus. © 1984, The Japanese Society of Fisheries Science. All rights reserved.