Fugu - pufferfish

We ordered a set menu... fugu is checked off on my list now, and I will never go back... Fugu. For those of you who do not know...

Tetrodotoxin is a very potent neurotoxin that shuts down electrical signaling in nerves by binding to the pores of sodium channel proteins in nerve cell membranes. Tetrodotoxin is not affected by cooking[citation needed]. It does not cross the blood–brain barrier, leaving the victim fully conscious while paralyzing the remainder of the body. In animal studies with mice, 8 μg tetrodotoxin per kg body weight killed 50% of the mice. The pufferfish itself is not susceptible to the poison due to a mutation in the protein sequence of the sodium channel pump on the cell membranes.

The symptoms from ingesting a lethal dose of tetrodotoxin may include dizziness, exhaustion, headache, nausea, or difficulty breathing. For 50% to 80% of the victims, death follows within four to 24 hours. The victim remains fully conscious throughout most of the ordeal, but cannot speak or move due to paralysis, and soon also cannot breathe and subsequently asphyxiates. If the victim survives the first 24 hours, he or she usually recovers completely.

There is no known antidote, and treatment consists of emptying the stomach, feeding the victim activated charcoal to bind the toxin, and taking standard life-support measures to keep the victim alive until the poison has worn off. Japanese toxicologists in several medical research centres are now working on developing an antidote to tetrodotoxin

I have not experienced any paralysing effects yet, my nerves seem to be signalling to each other so far... but I guess, I still have a few hours left... I must add that I had the fish at a Ginza restaurant wish might be the most posh places in whole of Japan..

Mathias, Mattias and I will just have to see what happens now...


Sometimes it is time to do things you never done before. Fugu was one, I feel as good about my moral choices right now as if I would have eating at McDonalds or encouraging people to wear mink furs, or to have the chef slice up the fish and serve it before the nerve impulses of the gills actually stopped; I'm not too keen of having my dinner twitching and chirruping for air in front of me...