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Saxitoxin

Saxitoxin, often abbreviated STX, is a neurotoxin found primarily in marine dinoflagellates and often associated with red tide. It acts as a selective sodium channel blocker, numbing and paralyzing nerves. Pure saxitoxin is classified as a chemical weapon (designation TZ). Its poison acts in a matter of minutes, faster than most toxins.

Saxitoxin is also associated with fugu food poisoning, which is caused by improperly prepared pufferfish (in Japan, this is a delicacy but requires intensive training in proper preparation to eliminate the poison). It can also be ingested by humans and other seafood eaters when saxitoxin released in red tide outbreaks is absorbed in shellfish. When a person has been poisoned with this toxin, he or she presents with a flaccid paralysis; the victim is both conscious and calm during the progression of symptoms. Death is generally from respiratory failure secondary to paralysis. Interestingly, the Japanese by tradition do not bury the victim of fugu poisoning for three days after apparent death; near-lethal poisonings by fugu have resulted in a paralysis that mimics death, and "dead" fugu-poisoned people have been known to wake up.

Saxitoxin is most important to cellular research by its actions on the function of the sodium channel. There is no known effective antidote. Fortunately, toxin-free fugu has recently been developed.

Web Resources On Saxitoxin

From food poisoning to chemical warfare.
Saxitoxin producing microalgae

Book Resources On Saxitoxin

Tetrodotoxin, Saxitoxin, and the Molecular Biology of the Sodium Channel by Kao & Levinson
Toxic Dinoflagellates by Donald M. Anderson

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