Free fatty acids inducing mouse lethal toxicity in lipid extracts of Engraulis japonica, the Japanese anchovy.

Mouse lethal toxicity was detected in the ether extract of Engraulis japonica (anchovy). The mouse toxicity of extracts was more potent from viscera than from other organs. Okadaic acid (C44H68O13) and dinophysistoxin (C45H70O13), lipophilic toxins derived from phytoplankton, which are usually considered to be the diarrhetic shellfish toxins, were not detected in the ether extract of ancovy. There occurred, however, two prominent peaks in high-performance liquid chromatography, which were identified as free eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The mouse toxicity observed correlated with the intensity of these two peaks. Toxicity was reduced considerably by pretreatment with Na2CO3. By quantitating EPA toxicity, it was concluded that the toxicity was not due to EPA only but also to DHA. The results indicate that substances in Japanese anchovy associated with mouse lethal toxicity include free polyunsaturated fatty acids, mainly EPA and DHA.