Contamination status of paralytic shellfish toxins in shellfish from Southeastern China in 2017–2021

Abstract

Abstract A total of 2,355 shellfish samples were analyzed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) to study the toxin profiles of the 10 paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) collected from the southeast coast of China from 2017 to 2021. From 2355 shellfish samples (10.91%), 257 were detected, with the highest value in samples of Perna viridis. Among the six source areas in China, the samples from Fujian recorded the highest detected rate (15.28%). PSTs were found in Fuzhou (FZ), Ningde (ND), Quanzhou (QZ), Putian (PT), Zhangzhou (ZZ), and Xiamen (XM), with QZ and FZ having the highest and lowest detection rates of 15.28% and 4.23%, respectively. Saxitoxin (STX), neosaxitoxin (neoSTX), gonyautoxin (GTX1, GTX2, GTX3, GTX4), N-sulfocarbamoyl toxin (GTX5), and decarbamoyl toxin (dcSTX, dcGTX2, dcGTX3) were detected, and GTX5 and dcGTX2 were dominant. In addition, the samples containing PSTs were mostly concentrated in May to August and occasionally detected in December. The findings of this study will serve as a solid foundation for detecting marine contaminants and preserving seafood consumers’ health.