Marine microalgal biotoxins can accumulate in seafoods, posing significant risk to human health. These toxins include tetrodotoxin (TTX) and can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP), diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP), and amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP). With accelerating climate change, the frequency and intensity of harmful algal blooms capable of producing biotoxins have increased. In South Korea, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) regulates traditional toxins, including TTX and toxins causing PSP, DSP, and ASP. In contrast, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have established regulatory standards for a broader spectrum of marine biotoxins, including yessotoxins (YTXs), brevetoxins (BTXs), azaspiracids (AZAs), and ciguatoxins (CTXs), to ensure seafood safety. To effectively address this global concern, the MFDS launched an R&D project entitled "Establishment of the Safety Management System for Marine Biotoxins" (2020–2024). This project focused on enhancing analytical methods to detect unregulated toxins, assessing contamination levels, and developing rapid detection techniques. The project proposal emphasizes the need to establish a comprehensive monitoring system to mitigate future risks, particularly as climate change expands the range of toxic marine species. This project aims to advance our understanding of marine biotoxin contamination and strengthen seafood safety measures in South Korea by aligning them with international standards. This special issue compiles knowledge accumulated and technical advancements related to marine biotoxins, stemming from the outcomes of this project. It includes 12 papers describing analyses of various regulated and unregulated marine biotoxins, the current prevalence of seafood contamination, toxicity assessments, rapid analytical methods, and the state of safety management.

The risk of various hazardous substances in aquatic environment comprises not only the concentration of substances in the environmental medium but also their accumulation in fish through complex food web and the health risks to humans through the fish. In Korea, the monitoring of residual toxicant in aquatic ecosystems began in 2016 following the enforcement of the Acts on registration and evaluation for the management of chemicals used in daily life (consumer chemical products), and attention has been paid to potentially hazardous substances attributed to them. Recently, studies have been carried out to investigate the distribution of these hazardous substances in the ecosystem and calculate their emission factors. These include the accumulation and transport of substances, such as detergents, dyes, fragrances, cosmetics, and disinfectants, within trophic levels. This study summarizes the results of recently published research on the inflow and distribution of hazardous substances from consumer chemical products to the aquatic environment and presents the scientific implication. Based on studies on aquatic environment monitoring techniques, this study suggests research directions for monitoring the residual concentration and distribution of harmful chemical substances in aquatic ecosystems. In particular, this study introduces the directions for research on trophic position analysis using compound specific isotope analysis and trophic magnification factors, which are needed to fulfill the contemporary requirements of selecting target fish based on the survey of major fish that inhabit domestic waters and assessment of associated health risk. In addition, this study provides suggestions for future biota monitoring and chemical research in Korea.

본 연구에서는 제외국 관리 해양생물독소인 YTXs의 원 인조류, 독화생물, 국내·외 관리현황 및 분석법에 대해 리뷰하였다. 현재까지 YTXs에 의한 국내 수산물 오염이 보고된 사례는 없지만 기후변화로 인한 국내 연안 해역의 아열대화로 독성조류의 국내 유입 가능성이 있을 뿐 아니라 외국의 경우 YTXs에 의한 오염이 빈번하게 발생하고 있기 때문에 해당 국가로부터 수입되는 수산물의 경우 잠재적인 오염가능성이 있어 이에 대한 선제적 대응이 필요하다. YTXs는 와편모조류인 Protecratium reticulatum, Gonyaulax polygramma, Gonyaulax spinifera과 Lingulodinium polyedrum에 의해 생성되는 것으로 알려져 있으며, 이들은 국내 연안에도 출현한다. 현재 패류 내 YTXs는 메탄올 추출, SPE 카트리지 정제 후 LC-MS/MS를 이용하여 분석하고 있다. YTXs, pectenotoxins, azaspiracids와 같은 지용성 패독은 추출 및 정제 등의 전처리 과정이 유사하여 동시 분석이 가능할 것으로 보이며, 이에 대한 분석법 최적화가 필요하다. 향후 국내 해역의 YTXs의 원인조류 출현 및 국내 유통(국내산 및 수입산) 수산물의 오염에 대한 지속적인 모니터링이 필요하다.

The effect of an artificial diet on the developmental rate, a life history parameter, was examined for the swallowtail butterfly, Papilio xuthus. Artificial insect diets are an essential component of many insect rearing systems that produce insects for research purposes. Complex agar-gelled diets are generally prepared in large batches and used shortly after preparation because the degradation of perishable diet ingredients, such as vitamins and fatty acids, can adversely affect insect quality (Brewer F D 1984). However, the timing of diet preparation may be inconvenient and large batches wasteful if the unused, excess diet is discarded. This study showed that if the artificial diet was fed during the larval stage, the larval and pupal developmental periods, the percentage of pupation, and the pupal weight generally did not differ significantly among the five artificial diets evaluated. The percentage of pupation varied considerably, with no significant differences among diets except for diet C. A maximum pupation percentage of 83% was observed on diet C. Pellet-type diets were investigated with the aim of developing a more easily prepared diet. The extrusion of the artificial diet under high temperature and pressure may induce desirable chemical and physical changes in the extruded product. The purpose of the present study was to develop an artificial diet for rearing P. xuthus.