Pufferfish

Today's Medical Topic:  Reader Freddy wants to know about Japanese Pufferfish, more specifically the infamous delicacy Fugu.  Thin slices of this fish have been served for centuries in Japan and even today this potentially deadly dish kills a few people every year.  But why and how does it kill you?  Let's find out.

He's a pointy sumbitch, ain't he?

Off the Top of My Head:  I know that the pufferfish contains a potent neurotoxin.  In Japan the chefs whom are allowed to prepare fugu are strictly controlled by law.  The preparation is also highly regulated in other countries as well.  I have heard there are only two places in the US that are allowed to prepare fugu although I don't know if this is true.

Slices so thin you can see through em'.

My Research Today:  The pufferfish is technically a member of the Tetraodontidae family which include over 120 species of puffers.  The pufferfish is the second-most toxic vertebrate in the world.  The first?  The golden poison frog.

The pufferfish contains the poison tetrodotoxin which is a sodium channel blocker.  I have discussed a similar toxin in the past.  This poison disrupts sodium channels in your cells by binding to and occluding the extracellular pore of the channels.  I could get more complicated but I don't want to.

Holy crap that looks complicated.

Long story short, this blockage of your sodium channels leads to paralysis of your muscles.  So much so that you stop breathing but are still conscious to witness the horror of not being able to breathe.  I am sure it sucks.  If you get to a hospital in time they can breathe for you long enough for your body to metabolize the rest of the poison.  The human body is amazing; the perfect machine.

Tetrodotoxin is more concentrated in the liver and skin of the pufferfish.  Experienced chefs train for a minimum of two years to learn how to prepare the pufferfish, carefully removing organs and must eat the fish they prepare.  Some people will dare God in eating thin slices of liver in order to get a buzz but hopefully won't die.  Word on the street is that a slice of pufferfish with just the right amount of poison gets you all tingly without killing you.

Tertodotoxin.  Damn carbon molecules.

Oddly enough, tetrodotoxin is not produced by the fish but by a bacteria that colonizes the fish the same way that humans have bacteria in their intestines.  It is possible to breed a pufferfish devoid of the toxin in a more sterile environment.  But what would be the fun in that?

Anyways, I hoped I answered your question, Freddy.  Remember, if you have a question please drop me a line at dudaday@gmail.com.  I would be happy to take a stab at anything you are interested in.