Abstract: Blooms of the dinoflagellate Gymnodinium breve (Ptychodiscus breuis) commonly known as “red tide” have led to massive fish kills, mollusk contamination, and human food intoxications along the Florida coast and the Gulf of Mexico. The toxins from G. breue responsible for these phenomena are the brevetoxins (BTX's), a group of potent neurotoxins with polycyclic trans-fused ether rings which presumably depolarize the sodium channels ...
