 In a case of paralytic poisoning in Japan it was found that the victim had eaten a trumpet shell, "Charonia lampas", which had acquired the toxin through its food chain, thus implicating "Astropecten polyacanthus".In a study that followed this incident, most of the 54 comb stars assayed contained TTX, with one individual having a toxicity score of 520 mouse units per gram.The comb star is sometimes kept in reef aquaria where it is efficient at clearing detritus and uneaten food from the sand or gravel.