Effects of coconut milk and brown sugar on crude toxins from mussels exposed to Pyrodinium bahamense var. compressa

Abstract

During a red tide episode caused by Pyrodinium bahamense var. compressa in Western Samar, Philippines in 1983, those who were taken ill after ingesting the green mussel, Perna viridis , resorted to drinking coconut milk (gata , Pilipino) with brown sugar or unpurified sugar lumps (tagapulot , Pilipino) as a temporary palliative, pending medical attention. Many victims felt relief after the drink. Crude toxins (CT) were extracted from P. viridis exposed to Pyrodinium using 0.1 N HCl and reacted with either or both 5% coconut milk (CM) and 5% brown sugar (BS) for an hour. The CT, CM, BS, CT + CM, CT + BS, and CT + CM + BS were assayed in duplicates for saxitoxin using the standard mouse toxicity test. CT with initial toxicity of 2,114 MU/100 g meat was substantially detoxified after a one-hour reaction. In CT + CM, the toxicity was 664 MU/100 g; in combined CT + CM + BS the toxicity was 1,005 MU/100 g. In medium- (436-563 MU/100 g) and low-toxicity extracts (160-231 MU/100 g) no deaths in mice were recorded within one hour of injection.