Pet Safety / Compounds / Maitotoxin

Is Maitotoxin safe for dogs and cats?

High risk for pets

Extreme Ca2+ channel activation; cardiac failure at very low doses.

What is maitotoxin?

The IUPAC name is (2S)-2-[[(2S)-2-(dimethylamino)-3-methylbutanoyl]amino]-N-[(3R,4R)-3-methoxy-1-[(2S)-2-[(1R,2S)-1-methoxy-2-methyl-3-oxo-3-[[(1S)-2-phenyl-1-(1,3-thiazol-2-yl)ethyl]amino]propyl]pyrrolidin-1-yl]-5-methyl-1-oxoheptan-4-yl]-N,3-dimethylbutanamide.

Also known as: CHEMBL2111676.

IUPAC name
(2S)-2-[[(2S)-2-(dimethylamino)-3-methylbutanoyl]amino]-N-[(3R,4R)-3-methoxy-1-[(2S)-2-[(1R,2S)-1-methoxy-2-methyl-3-oxo-3-[[(1S)-2-phenyl-1-(1,3-thiazol-2-yl)ethyl]amino]propyl]pyrrolidin-1-yl]-5-methyl-1-oxoheptan-4-yl]-N,3-dimethylbutanamide
CAS number
59392-53-9
Molecular formula
C164H256Na2O68S2
Molecular weight
3425.86 g/mol
SMILES
CCC(C)C(C(CC(=O)N1CCCC1C(C(C)C(=O)NC(CC2=CC=CC=C2)C3=NC=CS3)OC)OC)N(C)C(=O)C(C(C)C)NC(=O)C(C(C)C)N(C)C
PubChem CID
71459878

Risk for dogs

High risk

Extreme Ca2+ channel activation; cardiac failure at very low doses.

Regulatory consensus

2 regulatory and scientific bodies have classified Maitotoxin. The classifications differ — that's the data.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
FDA1995No specific regulation; falls under general seafood safety (21 CFR 123)
WHO2020Recognized ciguatera toxin component; no formal MRL (analytical detection difficult)

Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.

Where pets encounter maitotoxin

  • Marine Organism

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Maitotoxin:

  • Ciguatera fish testing (rapid immunoassay kits)
    Trade-offs: Detection, not substitution. False negative rate ~10-15%. Cannot detoxify contaminated fish.
    Relative cost: $5-25 per test

Frequently asked questions

Is maitotoxin safe for pets?

Extreme Ca2+ channel activation; cardiac failure at very low doses.

See Maitotoxin in the pets app

Look up products containing maitotoxin, compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

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Sources (1)

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for veterinary, medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →