Domoic acid (DA), the toxin responsible for the illness known as amnesic
shellfish poisoning (ASP), is an algal toxin produced naturally by some
species of the diatom genus Pseudo-nitzschia. The toxin has been detected in a diverse array
of marine organisms from copepods to whales. Cephalopods, which are
important members of the food chain and active predators of known toxin
vectors such as bivalves, crabs and some fishes, have just recently been
implicated in DA transfer or accumulation. Here we present data showing
detectable values of DA determined by HPLC-UV (high-performance liquid
chromatography and ultraviolet detection) and confirmed by HPLC-MS (mass
spectrometric detection) in two octopus species collected along the
Portuguese continental coast: Eledone cirrhosa and E. moschata. Domoic acid was frequently detected in
the digestive gland of E. moschata and occasionally reached concentrations exceeding
100 µg g−1. In contrast, E. cirrhosa contained lower concentrations of DA on
the few occasions that it was detected. This suggests that E. moschata is a potential
vector for DA transfer to higher trophic levels in the coastal marine food
web, not excluding humans. These data, combined with known aspects of the
life history of the species, are a necessary step towards achieving an
understanding of the accumulation of phycotoxins in cephalopods.