Effect of Feeding a Trumpet Shell, Charonia sauliae with Toxic Starfish

In order to elucidate the mechanism involved in the toxification of trumpet shell, Charonia sauliae, with tetrodotoxin (TTX), nontoxic trumpet shells were fed with toxic specimens of a starfish, Astropecten polyacanthus, for one to four weeks. All the digestive glands of the trumpet shells became toxic after one week of feeding. The accumulation/administration value (percent) of TTX was 33% on average, and the total amount of accumulated toxin tended to increase with the amount administered.It was found by feeding of the toxified trumpet shells with nontoxic mackerel meat that the accumulated toxin is not readily metabolized in and/or excreted from the trumpet shell.