Cylindrospermopsin

Slovak term: Slovenský termín

1. Cylindrospermopsin is a toxin produced by cyanobacteria or blue-green algae that has severe effects on the liver and other organs (UNESCO, WHO and UNEP 1999).

Explanation

Cyanotoxins belong to rather diverse groups of chemical substances, each of which shows specific toxic mechanisms in vertebrates. Some cyanotoxins are strong neurotoxins, others are primarily toxic to the liver (cylindrospermopsin), and yet others appear to cause health impairments, such as gastroenteritis, which are poorly understood (UNESCO, WHO and UNEP 1999).

Example

“Progress in analytical chemistry has enabled the isolation and structural identification of three neurotoxins with somewhat different modes of blocking neuronal signal transmission (anatoxin-a, anatoxin-a(s) and saxitoxins), one general cytotoxin, which inhibits protein synthesis (cylindrospermopsin), and a group of toxins termed microcystins (or nodularins, found in brackish waters), which inhibit protein phosphatases.” (UNESCO, WHO and UNEP 1999)

References

• UNESCO, WHO and UNEP (1999) Toxic cyanobacteria in water : a guide to their public health consequences, monitoring, and management

Links

• WHO — The Health and Environment Lexicon