Maitotoxin, Okadaic Acid, and Microcystins: Toxins That Disturb Signal Transduction and Phosphorylations

Seafood poisoning surveys point out the increasingly wide occurrence of illness risk due to toxins found in molluscs or fish consumed by humans. Some poisonings such as paralytic shellfish poisoning induce neurologic symptoms; in others, digestive disorders are predominant, as in diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP). The toxins isolated from these animals are, in fact, synthesized by microalgae, in general dinoflagellates but also diatoms or cyanobacteria, and they accumulate along the food chain.