Microencapsulation of okadaic acid as a tool for studying the accumulation of DSP toxins in mussels.

The possibility and effectiveness of microencapsulation of okadaic acid (OA) in gelatin-acacia microcapsules has been studied. The encapsulation efficiency was higher than 33%. The microcapsules were shown to be very stable, not leaching more than 9% of the encapsulated OA in a 20-h period. OA from the microcapsules was absorbed by the mussels very efficiently, accumulating--after 3 days of feeding and one of depuration--65% of the OA in microcapsules and 22% of the total OA used at the beginning of the microencapsulation process. These efficiencies and the possibility of encapsulating single DSP toxins and derivatives constitute a valuable tool for the study of the accumulation and biotransformation of DSP toxins in bivalves.