Abstract
Pufferfish belong to two families of marine and estuarine fish: Tetraodontidae and Diodontidae. The term
Tetraodontidae refers to the four large teeth fused into the upper and lower plates of the fish’s mouth, which are
used for crushing the shells of crustaceans and mollusks; the Diodontidae, as denoted by the name, possess only
two cutting teeth.
Poisoning by consumption of the members of puffer fish families is one of the most violent intoxications
caused by marine species. The ovary, liver, intestine and skin of pufferfish can contain levels of tetrodotoxin
sufficient to produce rapid and violent death. Treatment of the victims consists of supportive care and intestinal
decontamination with gastric lavage and activated charcoal concurrently with diuretic drugs. On the other
hand, the flesh of many pufferfish is not usually dangerously toxic and may be beneficial, producing a feeling of
well-being for the consumer. A pharmaceutical product derived from tetrodotoxin called Tectin is a potent pain
reliever and helper in opiate addicts going through withdrawal, when administered in very small quantities.
Both events conform to the mechanism exercised by hormesis, i.e., the effect of small doses of a toxic substance
that at higher doses has an adverse effect. A less powerful biotoxin of the puffers, named saxitoxin, the cause of
paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP), can also be found in these fish. It should be noted that puffer toxins seem
not to be synthesized by the fish itself, but can be traced to the food chain through the ingestion of toxin-bearing
organisms, such as starfish, gastropods, crustaceans, flatworms, and ribbonworms.
Nevertheless, the meat of some pufferfish species is considered a delicacy in both Japan (as fugu) and
South Korea (as boh-guh). The good news for staunch pufferfish eaters is that non-toxic pufferfish have been
produced in netcages or land culture; even the formerly toxic liver is now available as a Japanese traditional
dish “fugu-kimo” (puffer liver).
