Toxic Effects Produced by Anatoxin-a under Laboratory Conditions: A Review

The presence of cyanotoxins and its bioaccumulation in the food chain is an increasingly common problem worldwide. Despite the toxic effects produced by Anatoxin-a (ATX-a), this neurotoxin has been less studied compared to microcystins (MCs) and cylindrospermopsin (CYN). Studies conducted under laboratory conditions are of particular interest because these provide information which are directly related to the effects produced by the toxin. Currently, the World Health Organization (WHO) considers the ATX-a toxicological database inadequate to support the publication of a formal guideline reference value. Therefore, the aim of the present work is to compile all of the in vitro and in vivo toxicological studies performed so far and to identify potential data gaps. Results show that the number of reports is increasing in recent years. However, more in vitro studies are needed, mainly in standardized neuronal cell lines. Regarding in vivo studies, very few of them reflect conditions occurring in nature and further studies with longer periods of oral exposure would be of interest. Moreover, additional toxicological aspects of great interest such as mutagenicity, genotoxicity, immunotoxicity and alteration of hormonal balance need to be studied in depth.