MARINE TOXICITY AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON HUMAN HEALTH

Abstract

Marine toxicity is a major concern in the countries that depend on marine foods. Recently, several reports have appeared that shows novel kinds of toxic compounds and their effects. Present review focuses on the overall view of the marine toxicity in the recent times and their repercussions on human health. Various toxins were discovered in the last decades and still not all have been studied in detail due to the challenging processing methods involved. Especially, the number of cases involving intoxication caused due to consumption of poisonous sea foods like fish, oysters and claims have increased bringing in unknown toxins or new analogue of known toxins, thus increasing the scope to investigate the marine environment. Harmful algal blooms and their effects on the other edible marine organisms is also of major concern as it directly affects the economy of many coastal belts and so the effect of algal blooms is highlighted. Currently, most of the research is being focused on the isolation and purification of these toxins, but their economic importance also needs to be approached in the coming years.