Background: One of the eight Ramsar sites in the Philippines is the Las Piňas – Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area(LPPCHEA), and it plays a significant role in the East Asian-Australian Flyway as a stopover site. The migratory birds coming from the north of Asia and Alaska feed on the molluscs in this area. However, there is paucity of literature on the species composition of molluscs found in this critical habitat. Baseline information on these organisms is essential as they are subject to the effects of anthropogenic activities close to and in the wetland, which in turn can have an impact on the ecosystem, particularly the birds foraging in this location. Methodology: The Natural Geography of in-Shore areas (NaGISA) protocol was used for the study. Transects were laid in three sampling sites in Freedom Island and Long Island. The sampling sites were GPS-referenced. A cylinder corer was used to collect mudflat soil, with the corer pushed into the sediment. Soil samples were sieved using a 0.5mm stainless mesh sieve pan, leaving shells and larger sand grains. The molluscs were sorted and identified through taxonomic keys. Sampling was done once for each site in November 2012. Results and Discussion: A total of 61 molluscan species belonging to two classes, 14 orders, and 33 molluscan families were identified and recorded. There were 34 species under the Class Gastropoda that belong to 5 orders and 18 families. For Class Bivalvia, there were 27 species belonging to 8 orders and 15 families. Among the molluscs recorded, 10 species were identified as non-indigenous. It is important to monitor molluscan species as anthropogenic activities may affect these organisms, and in turn, affect the wetland's function for migratory birds. The presence of non-indigenous species may be a potential threat to the ecosystem. Conclusion Baseline information of the molluscan community in the LPPCHEA was provided by the study. These species provide diet to the endemic and migratory birds in the area. There is a need to monitor these molluscs due to the effects of the man-caused activities close to the area. Also, the non-indigenous species should be studied for their potential to be invasive.
Mollusca

Seafood is one of the common causes of food allergies to adults. The sea hare Aplysia kurodai is a marine mollusk which belongs to invertebrate gastropod that has been consumed as a food in Korea. Cases of acute toxic hepatitis after ingestion of sea hares have been reported, but few cases of allergic reactions to sea hare have been reported in the literature. A 33-year-old man was referred to our Emergency Department due to urticaria and periorbital/perioral swelling after eating sea hares. Approximately 10 years ago, he experienced similar allergic reactions to it. Skin prick and intradermal tests showed strong positive responses to crude sea hare allergen extract. He was diagnosed with food allergy to sea hares. We herein report the first case of sea hare allergy after ingestion.
Adult ; Angioedema* ; Aplysia ; Drug-Induced Liver Injury ; Eating* ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Gastropoda ; Hares* ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Intradermal Tests ; Invertebrates ; Korea ; Mollusca ; Seafood ; Skin ; Urticaria*

The sea hare is a marine mollusk in the family Aplysiidae that has long been consumed as food. Rarely, toxic hepatitis can occur after eating sea hare. We herein discuss four cases of toxic hepatitis due to sea hare ingestion and review the relevant literature.
Aplysia ; Drug-Induced Liver Injury* ; Eating* ; Hares* ; Humans ; Mollusca

The marine biological source of mineral drugs recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2010 version) mainly including pearl, nacre, clam shell, common oyster shell, ark shell, cuttle bone, and sea-ear shell are widely used in clinical. Calcium carbonate and a small amount of protein are the main components in this type of drugs. In this paper, a systematical and comparable study were carried out by determination of calcium carbonate by EDTA titration method, the crystal of calcium carbonate by X-Ray powder diffraction and the total amino acids (TAAs) of the hydrolyzed samples by ultraviolet spectrophotometry method. As a result, the crystal structure is calcite for common oyster shell, mixture of calcite and aragonite for nacre and sea-ear shell, aragonite for the other drugs. The content of calcium carbonate ranged from 86% to 96%. Cuttle bone has the highest amount of TAAs among the seven drugs which reached 1.7% while clam shell has the lowest content of 0.16% on average. In conclusion, an effective method was developed for the quality control of marine mineral drugs by comprehensive analysis of calcium carbonate and TAAs in the seven marine mineral drugs.
Amino Acids ; analysis ; chemistry ; Animal Shells ; chemistry ; Animals ; Calcium Carbonate ; analysis ; chemistry ; Crystallization ; Edetic Acid ; chemistry ; Mollusca ; chemistry ; classification ; Pharmaceutical Preparations ; analysis ; chemistry ; standards ; Quality Control ; Reproducibility of Results ; Seawater ; Species Specificity ; Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet ; X-Ray Diffraction

The identification of five marine-derived shell traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) recorded in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia were studied. Using near infrared technology (NIR) combined with principal component analysis (PCA) methods, Ostreae Concha, Haliotidis Concha, and Margaritifera Concha could be efficiently distinguished from Meretricis Concha together with Arcae Concha. In the first principal components, Ostreae Concha exhibited obvious differences with high loadings in 4 236, 5 263, 7 142 cm(-1) concerning to the contents of CaCO3 and H2O in the samples. Arcae Concha and Meretricis Concha displayed significant differences with others in the second principal components, which can be illustrated by high loadings in 5 000 -4 430 cm(-1) areas. It is indicated that the second principal components might be related to organics which contained NH and CH groups, for example proteins. Meanwhile, our data showed a correlation between the function of these shell TCM and their distribution in the PCA plot. These results suggested that organic components in marine-derived shell TCM could not be neglected for their quality control.
Animal Shells ; chemistry ; Animals ; Calcium Carbonate ; analysis ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Mollusca ; chemistry ; classification ; Principal Component Analysis ; Seawater ; Species Specificity ; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared ; methods

OBJECTIVEThe aim of this survey was to investigate the level of contamination of the most consumed foods in China with 16 rare earth elements (REEs), and to provide the basic data for establishing and revising food safety standards for REEs.

METHODSSixteen REEs in foods were measured by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in the labs of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of four provinces and two municipalities, during 2009-2010.

RESULTS1 231 samples were analyzed and 19 121 concentration data of 16 REEs were collected. The REEs levels in the investigated foods varied significantly. The concentrations of cerium (Ce), dysprosium (Dy), yttrium (Y), lanthanum (La), and neodymium (Nd) were relatively high, while the remaining eleven REEs were at low levels. The mean values of total rare earth element oxides (REOs) in cereals, fresh vegetables, fresh aquatic products, fresh meats and eggs varied from 0.052 mg/kg to 0.337 mg/kg.

CONCLUSION16 REEs in the major foods were at very low contamination levels in the investigated regions.

Animals ; China ; Edible Grain ; chemistry ; Eggs ; Fishes ; Food Analysis ; Food Contamination ; Meat ; analysis ; Metals, Rare Earth ; chemistry ; Mollusca ; Swine ; Vegetables ; chemistry

The discovery of quorum sensing (QS) system and its critical role in bacterial virulence have revealed a new way to attack pathogenic bacterium. The pathogenecity of QS deletion mutants decreases significantly. Targeting bacterial QS system is a promising therapeutic approach to control infections and anti-microbial resistance. To obtain natural QS inhibitors from marine organisms, marine fungi (69 strains) were isolated from marine mollusca, and their extracts were screened using improved QSIS2 (Quorum Sensing Inhibitor Selector 2) assay and Chromobacterium violaceum CV026. To improve the efficiency of QSIS2 screening, 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining method was used. Extract from strain QY013 was found to have QS inhibitory activity. Further experiment indicated that pyocyanin in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAOI and violacein in C. violaceum CV026 were reduced by QY013 extract, without affecting bacterial growth. Morphological and 18S rDNA sequence analysis revealed that strain QY013 was most closely related to Penicillium species. The above results suggest that active constituents from QY013 may be used as novel antimicrobial agents against bacterial infection.
Animals ; Anti-Infective Agents ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; pharmacology ; Bacterial Physiological Phenomena ; Fungi ; isolation & purification ; physiology ; Marine Biology ; Mollusca ; microbiology ; Penicillium ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathogenicity ; Quorum Sensing ; drug effects ; Virulence ; drug effects

OBJECTIVETo study the transfer of paralytic shellfish toxins (PST) using four simulated marine food chains: dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense --> Artemia Artemia salina --> Mysid shrimp Neomysis awatschensis; A. tamarense --> N. awatschensis; A. tamarense --> A. salina --> Perch Lateolabrax japonicus; and A. tamarense --> L. japonicus.

METHODSThe ingestion of A. tamarense, a producer of PST, by L. japonicus, N. awatschensis, and A. salina was first confirmed by microscopic observation of A. tamarense cells in the intestine samples of the three different organisms, and by the analysis of Chl.a levels in the samples. Toxin accumulation in L. japonicus and N. awatschensis directly from the feeding on A. tamarense or indirectly through the vector of A. salina was then studied. The toxicity of samples was measured using the AOAC mouse bioassay method, and the toxin content and profile of A. tamarense were analyzed by the HPLC method.

RESULTSBoth A. salina and N. awatschensis could ingest A. tamarense cells. However, the ingestion capability of A. salina exceeded that of N. awatschensis. After the exposure to the culture of A. tamarense (2000 cells x mL(-1)) for 70 minutes, the content of Chl.a in A. salina and N. awatschensis reached 0.87 and 0.024 microg x mg(-1), respectively. Besides, A. tamarense cells existed in the intestines of L. japonicus, N. awatschensis and A. salina by microscopic observation. Therefore, the three organisms could ingest A. tamarense cells directly. A. salina could accumulate high content of PST, and the toxicity of A. salina in samples collected on days 1, 4, and 5 of the experiment was 2.18, 2.6, and 2.1 MU x g(-1), respectively. All extracts from the samples could lead to death of tested mice within 7 minutes, and the toxin content in artemia sample collected on the 1st day was estimated to be 1.65 x 10(-5) microg STX equal/individual. Toxin accumulation in L. japonicus and N. awatschensis directly from the feeding on A. tamarense or indirectly from the vector of A. salina was also studied. The mice injected with extracts from L. japonicus and N. awatschensis samples that accumulated PST either directly or indirectly showed PST intoxication symptoms, indicating that low levels of PST existed in these samples.

CONCLUSIONParalytic shellfish toxins can be transferred to L. japonicus, N. awatschensis, and A. salina from A. tamarense directly or indirectly via the food chains.

Animals ; Artemia ; drug effects ; Cell Count ; Chlorophyll ; metabolism ; Eukaryota ; drug effects ; Feeding Behavior ; drug effects ; Fishes ; Food Chain ; Hydrolysis ; Marine Toxins ; analysis ; metabolism ; toxicity ; Mice ; Models, Biological ; Mollusca ; chemistry ; Paralysis ; chemically induced

The purpose of this study was to investigate utilization and storage management practice of the frozen and refrigerated foods in school foodservice. 222 dietitians employed in school foodservice were surveyed. In school foodservice, the refrigerated stock farm products and seafoods (78.3%) were more used rather than frozen products (47.5%). According to school foodservice characteristics, the refrigerated meats including dairy products were more frequently used in elementary and middle schools than high school foodservice. On the other hand, the foodservice in high school used more frozen seafoods and processed foods than elementary school did. The data also showed a tendency for the contracted foodservice using more frozen meats and seafoods rather than refrigerated products when comparing with the self-operated foodservice. In terms of receiving conditions, storage methods and storage time, the result indicated that frozen or refrigerated products were often delivered at inappropriate temperature. Especially some products which were needed to be shipped and stored at refrigerated temperature such as mollusks, were delivered and kept at room temperature. The most frequently used thawing method were running water (56.9%), however, the frozen products were often sitted at room temperature for the purpose of thawing. According to the results, several inappropriate handling processes for frozen and refrigerated products were found in school foodservice. In order to improve handling process for frozen and refrigerated products, recognition of food handlers' weakness about storage and distribution, development of radical standards for receiving conditions, storage and thawing methods should be debated.
Dairy Products ; Hand ; Humans ; Meat* ; Mollusca ; Nutritionists ; Running ; Seafood* ; Ships ; Water

Animals ; Dietary Fats ; Fatty Liver ; diet therapy ; etiology ; pathology ; Female ; Male ; Mollusca ; Rabbits ; Random Allocation