:Hallucinogenic fish
{{short description|Fish which can produce hallucinogenic effects when eaten}}
{{use British English|date=August 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
File:Sarpa salpa .jpg can result in hallucinations that last for several days.]]
Several species of fish are claimed to produce hallucinogenic effects when consumed, a condition known as ichthyoallyeinotoxism. For example, Sarpa salpa, a species of sea bream referred to as the "dream-fish", is commonly claimed to be hallucinogenic.{{cite journal |last1=Orsolini |first1=L. |last2=Ciccarese |first2=M. |last3=Papanti |first3=D. |last4=De Berardis |first4=D. |last5=Guirguis |first5=A. |last6=Corkery |first6=J. M. |last7=Schifano |first7=F. |date=2018 |title=Psychedelic fauna for psychonaut hunters: a mini-review |journal=Frontiers in Psychiatry |volume=9 |page=153 |doi=10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00153|pmid=29910745 |pmc=5992390 |doi-access=free }}{{cite book |last=Jawad |first=Laith A. |year=2017 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hOQ2DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA178 |title=Dangerous Fishes of the Eastern and Southern Arabian Peninsula |chapter=Hallucinogenic fish |pages=177–185 |publisher=Springer International |isbn=978-3-319-57926-9}} These widely distributed coastal fish are normally found in the Mediterranean and around the Iberian Peninsula, west to the Azores and along the west and south coasts of Africa. Occasionally they are found in British or more northerly waters.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/earthnews/5318202/Fish-that-triggers-hallucinations-found-off-British-coast.html |title=Fish that triggers hallucinations found off British coast |work=The Telegraph |date=13 May 2009 }} They may induce hallucinogenic effects similar to LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) if eaten.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/may/13/hallucination-fish-cornwall |title='Hallucination' fish netted in Channel |newspaper=The Guardian |date=13 May 2009 }} However, based on the reports of exposure they are more likely to resemble hallucinogenic effects of deliriants than the effects of serotonergic psychedelics such as LSD. In 2006, two men who apparently ate the fish experienced hallucinations lasting for several days (an effect common with some naturally occurring deliriants).
{{cite journal
| author = de Haro, L.
|author2=Pommier, P.
| title = Hallucinatory fish poisoning (ichthyoallyeinotoxism): two case reports from the Western Mediterranean and literature review
| journal = Clinical Toxicology
| year = 2006
| volume = 44
| issue = 2
| pages = 185–8
| pmid = 16615678
| doi = 10.1080/15563650500514590|s2cid=41191477
}}
{{cite news
|url = http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=888
|title = Men hallucinate after eating fish
|first = Matt
|last = Clarke
|work = Practical Fishkeeping
|date = 19 April 2006
|access-date = 31 March 2010
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110605090450/http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=888
|archive-date = 5 June 2011
}}
The likelihood of hallucinations depends on the season.{{cite book |vauthors=de Haro L, Jouglard DE, Thomas MJ, David JM |date=1994 |chapter=Intoxications de type ciguatera after eating the Sparidae in Mediterranean |veditors=Boudoresque, CF, Meinsez A, Gravez V |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XsYTAAAACAAJ |title=First International Workshop on Caulerpa taxifolia |publisher=GIS Posidonie Publ. |location=France |pages=271–274 |isbn=978-2-905540-19-5}} Sarpa salpa is known as "the fish that makes dreams" in Arabic.
Other species claimed to be capable of producing hallucinations include several species of sea chub from the genus Kyphosus. It is unclear whether the toxins are produced by the fish themselves or by marine algae in their diet. Other hallucinogenic fish are Siganus spinus, called "the fish that inebriates" in Reunion Island, and Mulloidichthys flavolineatus (formerly Mulloidichthys samoensis), called "the chief of ghosts" in Hawaii.{{cite book|last1=Thomas |first1=Craig|last2=Scott|first2=Susan|title=All Stings Considered: First Aid and Medical Treatment of Hawai'i's Marine Injuries|date=1 June 1997|publisher=University of Hawai'i Press|location=Hawaii|isbn=978-0-8248-1900-2|pages=120|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=okQ78Yt-73IC&pg=PA120}}
Cause of hallucinations
{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = horizontal
| image1 = Caulerpa prolifera.JPG
| width1 = 160
| alt1 =
| caption1 = Some fish may become hallucinogenic after grazing on Caulerpa prolifera, a species of green alga that forms dense beds on shallow sandy areas.
| image2 = Posidonia 2 Alberto Romeo.jpg
| width2 = 236
| alt2 =
| caption2 = Also implicated is Posidonia oceanica, a seagrass that lives in meadows along the Mediterranean coast.
}}
The active agent(s) that cause hallucinations in humans, and the origin of these agents, are not clear. Some authors think they could come from toxins associated with macroalgae that accumulate in the flesh of the fish. Toxins from the green algae Caulerpa prolifera in the Mediterranean Sea appear to be implicated, as is the seagrass Posidonia oceanica.{{cite journal |vauthors=Bellassoued K, Hamza A, Abdelmouleh A, Makni FA, Van Pelt J, Elfeki A |date=2012 |title=Toxicity assessment of dreamfish Sarpa salpa from the Gulf of Gabes (Tunisia, Eastern Mediterranean Sea) |journal=Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=1308–1313}} When herbivores eat seagrass leaves they ingest algal epiphytes and toxic dinoflagellates that live on the seagrass leaves.{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/BF00379006 |title=Detection of inconspicuous epiphytic algae supporting food webs in seagrass meadows |year=1984 |last1=Kitting |first1=Christopher L. |last2=Fry |first2=Brian |last3=Morgan |first3=Mark D. |journal=Oecologia |volume=62 |issue=2 |pages=145–149 |pmid=28310706 |bibcode=1984Oecol..62..145K |s2cid=24235492 }} The German anthropologist Christian Rätsch thinks that dreamfish might contain the hallucinogen DMT.Pickover, Clifford A (2005) [ Sex, Drugs, Einstein, and Elves] Chapter 1, page 9, Smart Publications. {{ISBN|978-1-890572-17-4}}.
{{blockquote|A few reporters have eaten the dream fish and described their strange effects. The most famous user is Joe Roberts, a photographer for the National Geographic magazine. He broiled the dream fish in 1960. After eating the delicacy, he experienced intense hallucinations with a science-fiction theme that included futuristic vehicles, images of space exploration, and monuments marking humanity's first trips into space.}}
Hallucinogenic species
Ichthyoallyeinotoxism
{{main|Ichthyoallyeinotoxism}}
Ichthyoallyeinotoxism, or hallucinogenic fish inebriation, is a clinical syndrome that refers to a hallucinogenic inebriation of a distressing nature that can arise from consuming hallucinogenic fish. It is characterised by "psychologic disturbances of hallucination and depression. Gastrointestinal disturbance may occur".[http://www.spc.int/DigitalLibrary/Doc/FAME/Meetings/Meetings_on_Ciguatera/Seminar_Ichthyosarcotoxism_68/Report.pdf Report of the Seminar on Ichthyosarcotoxism] Papeete 1968, South Pacific Commission. "Ichthyoallyeinotoxism is a kind of ichthysarcotoxism (fish flesh poisoning) responsible of an unusual clinical feature: it is the unique case of central nervous system ichthyotoxicity. The most frequent signs are dizziness, loss of co-ordination and hallucinations."de Haro, L., Prost, N., Arditti, J., David, J. M., & Jouglard, J. (1998) [http://yadda.icm.edu.pl/yadda/element/bwmeta1.element.elsevier-8bca58ea-fd50-38a1-b9b4-6f1dc88725e9 "Ichthyoallyeinotoxism: a rare pathology"] Toxicon, 36 (12): 1738–1739.
Ichthyoallyeinotoxism may result from eating the flesh or the head of the fish where the poison is reputedly concentrated. This biotoxication is sporadic and unpredictable in its occurrence. The poison affects primarily the central nervous system. The symptoms may develop within a few minutes to 2 hours and persist for 24 hours or longer. Symptoms are dizziness, loss of equilibrium, lack of motor coordination, hallucinations and mental depression. A common complaint of the victim is that "someone is sitting on my chest", or there is a sensation of a tight constriction around the chest. The conviction that he is going to die, or some other frightening fantasy, is a characteristic part of the clinical picture. Other complaints consist of itching, burning of the throat, muscular weakness and abdominal distress. No fatalities have been reported, and in comparison with other forms of ichthyosarcotoxism, hallucinogenic fish poisoning is relatively mild... Ordinary cooking procedures do not destroy the poison.R Bagnis R, F Berglund, PS Elias, GJ van Esch, BW Halstead and K Kojima (1970) [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2427509/pdf/bullwho00212-0080.pdf "Problems of Toxicants in Marine Food Products: 1. Marine biotoxins"] Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 42: 69–88.
{{clear}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/dolphins-getting-high-on-puffer-fish-zoologist-rob-pilley-says/story-fn5fsgyc-1226791707165 Dolphins 'getting high' on puffer fish, zoologist Rob Pilley says] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021194612/http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/dolphins-getting-high-on-puffer-fish-zoologist-rob-pilley-says/story-fn5fsgyc-1226791707165 |date=21 October 2016 }} news.com.au, 30 December 2013.
{{diversity of fish|state=expanded}}
Category:Biological sources of psychoactive drugs