It is well known that despite the bioactive (beneficial) compounds, several toxic compounds can be accumulated in algae and microalgae. Compounds like alka­loids, domoic acid, azaspiracid, brevetoxin, okadaic acid, pectenotoxin, or micro — cystins have been described.

Therefore, sometimes it is required to perform some toxicological tests mainly based in the mouse bioassay. Article 5 of a European Commission Decision dated 15 March 2002, laying down rules related to maximum permitted levels of certain biotoxins and methods of analysis for marine bivalve molluscs and other seafood states: “When the results of the analyses performed demonstrate discrepancies between the different methods, the mouse bioassay should be considered as the reference method.” The basic procedure involves i. p. injection of an extract of the sample containing the toxin and observing the symptoms. A deeper review on toxi­cological analysis can be read in the book edited by Gilbert and §enyuva “Bioactive compounds in Foods” [42] .