Removal of lipids and diarrhetic shellfish poisoning toxins (DSP) from blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) by an acid or alkaline protein solubilization technique

Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2008

Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (IDSP) toxins pose a serious health risk for consumers of bivalves and other shellfish, as well as a huge economic burden for the bivalve-producing farmers. In this work, the aim was to utilize a solubilization-based protein-isolation method to produce a low-DSP toxin protein isolate from toxic blue mussels that are unsuitable for the whole shellfish market. A homogenate of whole mussel meat was solubilized at low pH (2.8) or high pH (11.1), followed by centrifugation and reprecipitation of the solubilized mussel proteins at the isoelectric pH. In a second centrifugation, precipitated proteins were collected. These processes resulted in 81 (acid solubilization) and 72% (alkaline solubilization) reduction in the initial DTX-1 toxin content of the mussel meat. No other DSP toxins were-found in the protein isolates. Acid processing of mussel meat resulted in 50% reduction in the total lipid content, while alkaline treatment did not significantly affect the) lipid content. The effect of citric acid and calcium chloride addition to the mussel meat-water homegenate on lipid and toxin content was also investigated. A poor correlation factor was surprisingly obtained between reductions in DTX-1 toxin and lipids in protein isolates from,processed toxic mussels. Results from an analytical mass balance of the DTX-1 toxin during acid processing showed that 61% of this toxin ended up in the aqueous supernatant after the second centrifugation. The present study presents a promising alternative way of utilizing mussels for food production in periods when they are toxic.