Assay and detoxification experiments with Mytilotoxin in mussels (Mythus edulisL.) from Nordåsstraumen, Western Norway, 1979 and 1980

Abstract

During the spring and summer of 1979 and 1980 large amounts of mytilotoxin were detected in mussels from Nordåsstraumen which is a tidal stream c. 10 km southwest of the city of Bergen in western Norway. Detoxification experiments were made by transferring toxic mussels to nonpolluted areas. These investigations show that it is of minor practical use to do this kind of transfer in order to make the mussels safe for human consumption. Mussels of varying size were gathered from an area of approximately one m2 and divided into two groups. The smaller shells (3-4 cm long) showed a titre of 42 000 MU/100 g while the toxin content of the larger shells (> 6 cm long) was 19 470 MU/100 g. The titre of 42 000 MU/100 g is the highest concentration of mytilotoxin ever detected in Norwegian mussels