Does Ocean Sunfish Mola spp. (Tetraodontiformes: Molidae) Represent a Risk for Tetrodotoxin Poisoning in the Portuguese Coast?

Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a potent neurotoxin naturally occurring in terrestrial and marine organisms such as pufferfish. Due to the risk of TTX poisoning, fish of Tetraodontidae family and other puffer-related species must not be placed in the EU markets. This restriction applies to fish of the family Molidae even though no data on toxins' occurrence is available. In this study, the presence of TTX and its analogues was investigated in the main edible tissue (the white muscle) and the main xenobiotics storage organ (the liver) of ocean sunfish Mola spp. (n = 13) from the South Portuguese coast. HILIC-MS/MS analyses did not reveal TTX in the analyzed samples, suggesting an inexistent or very limited risk of TTX poisoning.