No more shark fin soup… on pain of poisoning!

Each year, more than 70 million sharks are killed, victims of overfishing and shark finning. Their fins are mainly found in the plates of Asians who transform them into soups or so-called virtuous capsules. And apparently toxic. A team of American scientists analyzed the dorsal fin of seven species of sharks and detected a toxin in large quantities called BMMA (beta-N-methylamino-L-alanine). This molecule produced by bacteria is said to be the cause of certain neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzeihmer or Charcot's disease.

Researchers at the University of Miami, led by Kiyo Mondo, found BMMA levels on these fins much higher than those found in patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Usually, it is not present at all in the human body, the consumption of fins would therefore be toxic to humans.

According to scientists, the accumulation of BMMA in sharks is the result of the multiplication of cyanobacteria, which proliferate in the waters due to our pollution.

If fin consumers don't care about the threat of extinctionwhich weighs on about thirty species, perhaps they will be sensitized by endangering their health…

If you are a fan of English:

http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/10/2/509