Title: paralytic shellfish poisoning
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - paralytic shellfish poisoning
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.11990
Status: current

Definition
Illness that is a consequence of consumption of bivalve molluscs such as mussels, oysters, and clams that have ingested large quantities of microalgae containing saxitoxin or its derivatives.

Note
Initially there is tingling, numbness, and burning of the tongue and lips, which spreads to the face, neck, arms, fingertips, legs, and toes; this is followed by weakness of the upper and lower limbs, loss of motor coordination, and, in severe cases, paralysis.

Related Term
- paralysis: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11989

Source
- PAC, 2015, 87, 841. 'IUPAC Glossary of terms used in neurotoxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2015)' on page 894 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2015-0103)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11990/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11990/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11990/xml

Citation: Citation: 'paralytic shellfish poisoning' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.11990
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Accessed: 2026-06-28T17:45:54+00:00