Ichthyotoxins are compounds which are either toxic to fish, or are toxins produced by fish. The former include the algae-produced
euglenophycin Euglenophycin is an ichthyotoxic compound isolated from ''Euglena sanguinea'', a protist of the genus ''Euglena''. It exhibits anticancer and herbicidal activity ''in vitro''.
History
Many fresh-water algae that produce toxins are known, among w ...
and
prymnesins, which can cause large-scale fish deaths. The latter includes
ostracitoxin, produced by
boxfish
Ostraciidae is a family of squared, bony fish belonging to the order Tetraodontiformes, closely related to the pufferfishes and filefishes. Fish in the family are known variously as boxfishes, cofferfishes, cowfishes and trunkfishes. It contains ...
.
Many toxin-producing algal species can be found both in marine and fresh water environments when the algae are in bloom. Ichthyotoxic poisoning in humans can cause symptoms ranging in severity dependent on how much toxin was consumed. The symptoms of an ichthyotoxin poisoning from fish venoms can include headache, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, and drop in blood pressure.
Examples
The eggs of
gar
Gars are members of the family Lepisosteidae, which are the only surviving members of the Ginglymodi, an ancient holosteian group of ray-finned fish, which first appeared during the Triassic, over 240 million years ago. Gars comprise seven livin ...
and the
roe
Roe ( ) or hard roe is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses, of fish and certain marine animals such as shrimp, scallop, sea urchins and squid. As a seafood, roe is used both as a cooked in ...
and eggs of several other fish species contain toxins. Toxin-producing algae include ''
Prymnesium parvum
''Prymnesium parvum'' is a species of haptophytes (also collectively called Prymnesiophyta). The species is of concern because of its ability to produce the phycotoxin prymnesin. It is a flagellated alga that is normally found suspended in the ...
''.
Anti-cancer research
Euglonophycin
It was discovered that
euglonophycin, a euglenoid ichthyotoxin derived from ''
Euglena sanguinea
''Euglena sanguinea'' is a species of the genus ''Euglena''. The red colour is due to the presence of astaxanthin and the cells can be populous enough to colour water red. The pigment is used to protect the chloroplasts from light that is too inte ...
'', displays anticancer activity. By sharing a similar chemical structure to
solenopsin
Solenopsin is a lipophilic alkaloid with the molecular formula C17H35N found in the venom of fire ants (''Solenopsis''). It is considered the primary toxin in the venom and may be the component responsible for the cardiorespiratory failure in pe ...
, an angiogenic inhibitor and alkaloid toxin derived from fire ant venom, euglonophycin has been studied for potential application in natural products and drug development for cancer therapy. Based on experimental studies, anti-cancer activity by euglonophycin was demonstrated in leukemia, neuroblastoma, and colorectal cancer cell lines.
Specifically, in colorectal cancer cells, euglenophycin exposure exhibited cytotoxic, anti-proliferative, anti-migratory, and anti-inflammatory activity.
It was determined that autophagic regulation and G1 cell cycle arrest contributes to euglenophycin's ability to inhibit colorectal cancer cell proliferation, prevent metastasis, and suppress tumour inflammation.
See also
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Piscicide
A piscicide is a chemical substance which is poisonous to fish. The primary use for piscicides is to eliminate a dominant species of fish in a body of water, as the first step in attempting to populate the body of water with a different fish. They ...
*
Fish toxins
Fish toxins or fish stupefying plants have historically been used by many hunter gatherer cultures to stun fish, so they become easy to collect by hand. Some of these toxins paralyse fish, which can then be easily collected. The process of docume ...
, poisons derived from plants used for hunting fish
*
Venomous fish
Venomous fish are species of fish which produce strong mixtures of toxins harmful to humans (called venom) which they deliberately deliver by means of a bite, sting, or stab, resulting in an envenomation. As a contrast, poisonous fish also pr ...
, fish which produce venom
References
External links
*{{Commons category-inline, Ichthyotoxins