Special Issue "Marine and Freshwater Toxins"

Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Luis M. Botana
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago of Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain
E-Mail: luis.botana@usc.es
Phone: +34-982-8-22233

Dear Colleagues,

The chemical diversity of marine and freshwater toxins grows at a high rate every year. This is important for the several implications derived: potential food safety warnings, analytical challenges and increased chemical richness for the scientific knowledge. Many of these compounds are potent drugs with therapeutic use as lead compounds, although in many cases their mechanism of action, hence their toxicology, is not understood. From an ecological point of view, cyanobacteria are present in freashwater and marine waters, and both marine toxins and freshwater toxins are showing a quick change in their geographical profiles due to climate change. These are many challenges for scientists which this issue will try to cover.

Prof. Dr. Luis M. Botana
Guest Editor

Submission

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxins is an international peer-reviewed Open Access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 800 CHF (Swiss Francs) for well prepared manuscripts submitted before 1 July 2013. The APC for manuscripts submitted from 1 July 2013 onwards are 1000 CHF per accepted paper.

• marine toxin
• freshwater toxin
• climate change
• food safety
• toxicology

Type of paper: Review
Title: Risk Assessment of Shellfish Toxins
Author: Rex Munday
Affiliation: AgResearch, Ruakura Research Centre, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton, New Zealand; E-Mail: rex.munday@agresearch.co.nz
Abstract: Complex secondary metabolites, some of which are highly toxic to mammals, are produced by many marine organisms. Some of these organisms are important food sources for shellfish and other seafoods, and, when ingested, the toxins that they produce may be absorbed and stored in the tissues of the predators, which then become toxic to animals higher up the food chain. This is a particular problem with shellfish, and many cases of poisoning are reported in shellfish consumers each year. At present, there is no practicable means of preventing uptake of the toxins by shellfish or of removing them after harvesting. Assessment of the risk posed by such toxins is therefore required so that regulations on the levels in shellfish that are unlikely to cause adverse effects in humans can be set. In the present review, the basic principles of risk assessment are described, and the progress made toward robust risk assessment of seafood toxins is discussed. While good progress has been made, it is clear that further toxicological studies are required before this goal is fully achieved.