Ciguatera fish poisoning : Do reef fishes or "isdang bato"really contain toxins?

Abstract

Ciguatera fish poisoning is a threat to public health and fish trade of commercially important reef fishes. Thus, scientists from the Department of Agriculture - National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (DA-NFRDI) explored whether our reef fishes (commonly called isdang bato) contain toxins.What is Ciguatera fish poisoning? It is a form of poisoning primarily caused by ingesting or eating reef fishes that are contaminated with ciguatoxins (CTX), a poison produced by the Gambierdiscus species. Ciguatoxic reef fishes include the barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda), parrotfish (Scarus quoyi), rabbitfish (Siganus guttatus), grouper (Ephinephelus merra and Variola albimarginata), snapper (Lutjanus campechanus), and emperor fish Lethrinus lentjan.