This toxin is responsible for amnestic shellfish poisoning.
Domoic acid, produced by N. pungens, is the heat stable toxin responsible for amnestic shellfish poisoning. It has structural similarity to glutamate and kainic acid which is the proposed mechanism to the excessive excitation and neuronal damage. (Hogberg HT et al. Domoic acid-induced neurotoxicity is mainly mediated by the AMPA/KA receptor: Comparison between immature and mature primary cultures of neurons and glial cells from rat cerebellum. J Toxicol 2011; 2011:543512: doi: 10.1155/2011/543512)
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