DETERMINATION OF DSP TOXINS - COMPARATIVE-STUDY OF HPLC AND BIOASSAY TO REDUCE THE OBSERVATION TIME OF THE MOUSE BIOASSAY

The progressive increase of DSP toxic episodes in shellfish in the las t few years has generated a series of criticisms centered on the suita bility of the mouse bioassay as a reference method to regulate the har vest of mussels from the growth area. The observation time in injected mice is currently fixed in 12 h by the actual Spanish rules. The revi sion of this time period and the lack of a established DSP toxin thres hold which permits the commercialization of mussels contaminated under certain levels, are some of the actual demands from the industry. In this study, the results obtained in a comparative study of DSP toxic m ussels are shown using the HPLC method and the mouse bioassay. Based o n these results, we consider feasible the reduction to 5 h of the obse rvation times of the mouse bioassay currently established in the actua l legislation, as well as the establishment of a DSP-toxin threshold o f 2 mu g okadaic acid/g hepatopancreas, which regulates the possibilit y of harvesting and commercialization of contaminated mussels.