PANEL MEMBERS

Okadaic acid (OA) and its analogues, the dinophysis toxins (DTX1, DTX2, and DTX3), together form the group of OA-toxins. These toxins are lipophilic and heat stable, are produced by dinoflagellates and can be found in various species of shellfish, mainly in filter-feeding bivalve molluscs such as oysters, mussels, scallops, and clams. While OA and DTX2 only differ by the position of one methyl group in the molecule, DTX1 has one additional methyl group and DTX3 represents a wide range of derivatives of OA, DTX1 and DTX2 esterified with saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. OA-group toxins cause Diarrhoeic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP), which is characterised by symptoms such as diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. These symptoms may occur in humans shortly after consumption of contaminated bivalve molluscs such as mussels, scallops, oysters or clams. Inhibition of serine/threonine phosphoprotein phosphatases is assumed to constitute the mode of action of OA-group toxins