Okadaic acid is a widely distributed marine toxin produced by several phytoplanktonic species and responsible for diarrheic shellfish poisoning in humans. At the molecular level, Okadaic acid is a potent and specific inhibitor of various types of serine/threonine protein phosphatases. Due to this enzymatic inhibition, Okadaic acid was reported to induce numerous alterations in relevant cellular physiological processes, including metabolic pathways such as glucose uptake, lipolysis and glycolysis, heme metabolism and glycogen and protein synthesis.
