毒理性
识别和使用:软骨藻酸形成无色晶体针状。软骨藻酸是一种兴奋性氨基酸,含有谷氨酸的结构,与高活酸相似。海藻Chondria armata可能含有软骨藻酸,植物的提取物在日本被用作驱虫药,剂量为每人20毫克,没有不良反应。它的杀虫性质也很早就为人所知,因为苍蝇一落在海藻上就会很快死亡。人类暴露和毒性:遗忘性贝类中毒(ASP)发生在摄入含有软骨藻酸的软体动物或可能的鱼类后。迄今为止,仅在加拿大爱德华王子岛收获的双壳类软体动物在人类中引起过中毒。然而,软骨藻酸已在日本、地中海地区、北美和南美的东海岸以及北美的西海岸的藻类或甲藻中发现。摄入含有软骨藻酸的软体动物后几小时到一天内,会出现胃肠道症状。这些症状可能包括恶心、呕吐、腹痛、腹泻、出血性胃炎和厌食。神经症状可能在几小时后或长达三天后出现,这取决于1987年观察到的爆发情况。这些症状包括各种症状,因患者而异:严重头痛、失去平衡或眩晕、视力障碍、记忆丧失。在更严重的情况下(老年和肾功能不全是最主要的两个风险因素):症状包括混乱、定向障碍、沉默达两周;自主神经系统功能障碍,持续几天到几周(心律失常、血压不稳定、打嗝、支气管分泌过多,可能需要气管插管);不自主咀嚼、扮鬼脸、肌阵挛、惊厥;昏迷。在107例确诊病例中,有4人死亡。永久性后遗症包括记忆丧失和周围神经病。软骨藻酸在Caco-2细胞中诱导微核形成,显示出其具有致突变潜力。动物研究:该毒素作为谷氨酸激动剂,对脊椎动物中枢神经系统和其他富含谷氨酸受体的器官具有兴奋性毒性。对成年非人灵长类动物的实验研究表明,软骨藻酸是一种剂量依赖性的催吐剂,可产生与兴奋性毒性一致的临床和神经病理学变化。对处理过的啮齿动物的行为评估表明,过度活跃和刻板抓挠是毒性的第一个功能标记。中剂量治疗与记忆障碍和行为过度反应有关,这表明唤醒和/或情绪有所改变。在高剂量下,软骨藻酸处理导致明显的神经毒性,其特征是惊厥、癫痫持续状态和治疗动物的死亡。软骨藻酸的暴露途径很重要,影响效果的严重程度;腹膜内和静脉内治疗的经典中毒迹象明显低于口服暴露的剂量。虽然发育研究较少,但软骨藻酸容易穿过胎盘并进入胎儿大脑。软骨藻酸与先天性畸形无关,但与暴露后代在运动行为和认知上的持续变化有关。比较研究表明,与软骨藻酸相关的功能损失可能是持久的,对中枢神经系统的损伤可能是进行性的。软骨藻酸在鱼类Oreochromis niloticus中具有致突变性,显著增加了微核、核异常以及DNA链断裂的频率。生态毒性研究:在对大量野生海狮的研究中表明,空间记忆缺陷与自然接触DA相关的右背海马损伤程度有关,而且接触还会破坏海马-丘脑脑网络。因为海狮是依靠灵活导航的动态捕食者,受损的空间记忆可能影响其在野外的生存。监测加利福尼亚海狮(Zalophus californianus)的健康状况表明,这种物种的软骨藻酸中毒的症状学和流行病学的变化与有毒藻华的增加有关。存在两种不同的临床综合征:急性软骨藻酸中毒,以及与以前亚致死剂量的毒素暴露后慢性后果相关的癫痫。
IDENTIFICATION AND USE: Domoic acid forms colorless crystal needles. Domoic acid is an excitatory amino acid containing the structure of glutamic acid and resembling kainic acid. Seaweed Chondria armata may contain domoic acid and extracts of the plant have been used in Japan as an ascaricidal medication at a dose of 20 mg/person without adverse effects. Its insecticidal properties were also known since flies die soon after landing on the seaweeds. HUMAN EXPOSURE AND TOXICITY: Amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) occurs after ingestion of bivalve molluscs or possibly fish contaminated with domoic acid. Until now, only bivalve molluscs harvested in Prince Edward Island, Canada, have produced poisonings in humans. However, domoic acid has been found in algae or dinoflagellates in Japan, the Mediterranean region, the East Coast of North and South America, and the West Coast of North America. After a delay of a few hours to one-day post ingestion of molluscs contaminated with domoic acid, gastrointestinal symptoms appear. They may include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, hemorrhagic gastritis and anorexia. The neurological symptoms may occur after a delay of a few hours or up to three days according to the outbreak observed in 1987. These consist of a wide variety of symptoms varied among patients: severe headaches, loss of balance or dizziness, vision disturbances, memory loss. In more severe cases (old age and renal insufficiency being the two main risk factors): symptoms included confusion, disorientation, mutism for up to two weeks; autonomic nervous system dysfunction for a few days to a few weeks (cardiac arrhythmias, unstable blood pressure, hiccoughs, bronchial hypersecretion which may require endo-tracheal intubation); involuntary chewing, grimacing, myoclonia, convulsions; coma. Death occurred in 4 of the 107 confirmed cases. Permanent sequelae included memory loss and peripheral polyneuropathy. Domoic acid has mutagenic potential as revealed in Caco-2 cells by induction of micronucleus formation. ANIMAL STUDIES: The toxin acts as a glutamate agonist and is excitotoxic in the vertebrate central nervous system and other glutamate receptor-rich organs. Experimental studies with adult nonhuman primates have established that domoic acid is a dose-dependent emetic that produces clinical and neuropathological changes consistent with excitotoxicity. Behavioral evaluations of treated rodents have shown that hyperactivity and stereotypical scratching are the first functional markers of toxicity. Mid-dose treatment is associated with memory impairment and behavioral hyperreactivity, suggesting changes in arousal and/or emotionality. At higher doses, domoic acid treatment results in frank neurotoxicity that is characterized by seizures, status epilepticus and death in treated animals. The route of domoic acid exposure is important and influences the severity of effects; intraperitoneal and intravenous treatments produce classic signs of poisoning at significantly lower doses than oral exposure. While developmental studies are few, domoic acid readily crosses the placenta and enters the fetal brain. Domoic acid is not associated with congenital dysmorphia but is linked to persistent changes in motor behavior and cognition in exposed offspring. Comparative research suggests that functional losses associated with domoic acid can be persistent and injuries to the CNS can be progressive. Domoic acid was genotoxic in a fish Oreochromis niloticus, producing significant increases in the frequencies of micronuclei, nuclear abnormalities as well as DNA strand breaks. ECOTOXICITY STUDIES: It was shown in a large sample of wild sea lions, that spatial memory deficits are predicted by the extent of right dorsal hippocampal lesions related to natural exposure to DA and that exposure also disrupts hippocampal-thalamic brain networks. Because sea lions are dynamic foragers that rely on flexible navigation, impaired spatial memory may affect survival in the wild. Monitoring California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) health indicated that changes in the symptomatology and epidemiology of domoic acid toxicosis in this species are associated with the increase in toxigenic blooms. Two separate clinical syndromes exist: acute domoic acid toxicosis, and a second neurological syndrome characterized by epilepsy associated with chronic consequences of previous sub-lethal exposure to the toxin.
来源:Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)