Poisonings from flesh of the Greenland shark Somniosus microcephalus may be due to trimethylamine

Uffe Anthoni, Carsten Christophersen*, Lone Gram, Niels H. Nielsen, Per Nielsen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Poisonings from flesh of the Greenland shark Somniosus microcephalus may be due to trimethylamine. Toxicon 29, 1205-1212, 1991 .-The flesh of the Greenland shark, Somniosus microcephalus, especially in fresh condition, is toxic to both dog and man. Analysis of the toxic fractions indicates the presence of large amounts of trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) but no other substances that could be directly responsible for the poisoning. The symptoms appear to be due to an acute trimethylamine (TMA) poisoning arising from intestinal reduction of TMAO to TMA. TMA stimulates contraction of the guinea-pig ileum (antagonized by atropine but not hexamethonium). Low concentrations of TMA increase contraction of the rat phrenic nerve-diaphragm preparation, whereas higher concentrations cause blockade
Original languageEnglish
JournalToxicon
Volume29
Issue number10
Pages (from-to)1205-1212
Number of pages8
ISSN0041-0101
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1991

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