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Pufferfish Poisoning

Pufferfish Poisoning Overview

The poison found in pufferfish, blowfish, balloon fish, toads, sunfish, porcupine fish, toadfish, globefish, and swellfish is a tetrodotoxin. This is one of the most toxic poisons found in nature. Most people who eat pufferfish do so intentionally; pufferfish are considered an Asian delicacy, served in some types of sushi and sashimi. Unless the chef is specially trained to cut the meat in a particular fashion, the dish may contain a large amount of the toxin. Pufferfish poisoning is similar to paralytic shellfish poisoning.



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Toxicity, Tetrodotoxin »

Poisoning with the neurotoxin tetrodotoxin (TTX) occurs after ingestion of various species of puffer fish (see Media file 1).

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