Spatiotemporal distribution of lipophilic shellfish toxins in plankton and shellfish in the offshore regions of Shandong province, China

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials 2024-09, Vol.477, p.135363, Article 135363
• Main Authors: Wu, Guangyao, Qiu, Jiangbing, Yan, Guowang, Li, Aifeng, Xu, Xiaoqing, Wang, Xiaoyun, Li, Dongyue
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aquaculture; Lipophilic shellfish toxins; Phytoplankton; Shellfish; Zooplankton
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.135363

Lipophilic shellfish toxins (LSTs) threaten the ecosystem health and seafood safety. To comprehensively investigate the spatiotemporal distribution of common LSTs in phytoplankton, zooplankton and economic shellfish, three cruises were conducted in five typical offshore aquaculture regions of Shandong province, China, including Haizhou Bay, Jiaozhou Bay, Sanggou Bay, Sishili Bay and Laizhou Bay, in spring (March–April), summer (July–August) and autumn (November–December). This study revealed significant variability in the composition and content of LSTs in phytoplankton samples collected from different regions. Pectenotoxin-2 (PTX2), dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX1) and okadaic acid (OA) were mainly detected in the ranges of not detected (nd)–5045 pmol g-1 dry weight (dw), nd–159 pmol g-1 dw, and nd–154 pmol g-1 dw, respectively. In zooplankton, DTX1 and OA were the predominant components of LSTs, with the highest levels of ∑LSTs in spring ranging from nd to 406 pmol g-1 dw. Spearman's correlation analysis between LSTs and environmental factors indicated significant correlations for the contents of homo-yessotoxin (hYTX), gymnodimine-A (GYM-A), and spirolide-1 (SPX1) with these factors. Totally relatively low levels of LSTs with dominative DTX1 were detected in economic shellfish, which showed a low risk to seafood safety for human health. [Display omitted] •DTX1 was prevalent in plankton and shellfish.•Content of PTX2 in phytoplankton was relatively high in summer and autumn.•OA and DTX1 levels were relatively high in zooplankton and shellfish in spring.•SPX1 and hYTX were first detected in plankton in Haizhou Bay.•Haizhou Bay was the most severely polluted by lipophilic shellfish toxins.