Toxicity of the cultured pufferfish Fugu rubripes rubripes along with their resistibility against tetrodotoxin.

Abstract

Eighty-five cultured specimens of a pufferfish Fugu rubripes rubripes were collected from several localities and assayed for toxicity as tetrodotoxin (TTX), as a part of a study on the mechanism involved in the toxification of pufferfish. No toxicity was detected regardless to the locality of collection, the age and tissue of specimen, etc. Attempts were made to estimate the resistibility against TTX of those cultured pufferfish. Results showed that they were endowed with high resistibility: the minimal lethal dose (i. p.) was 300-500 MU/20g body weight. All these results are supposed to favor the view that the pufferfish is toxified exogenously, i. e., by a food chain.