Shark fins contain high levels of a potent neurotoxin that scientists have linked to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer and Parkinson.
The first study from researcher at the University of Miami to find the toxin, BMAA, or Beta-methylamino-L-alanine in sharks.
Research has found high levels of BMAA in the brains of some people who died from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, but not in the brains of other people with similar backgrounds and physiology who died from other conditions.
The toxin has been shown to incorporate itself into brain proteins in animal studies, causing protein tangles like those seen in neurodegenerative conditions.
BMAA also acts synergistically with other neurotoxins like mercury; research has shown that when sublethal amounts of the two are combined, they become exponentially more deadly. That is of particular concern because shark fins are often contaminated with mercury and other heavy metals.
however, as does the link between BMAA and neurodegenerative conditions. But that does not mean it is necessarily smart to dine on shark.