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Wesolowska M, Yeates AJ, McSorley EM, Watson GE, van Wijngaarden E, Bodin N, Govinden R, Jean-Baptiste J, Desnousse S, Shamlaye CF, Myers GJ, Strain JJ, Mulhern MS. Dietary selenium and mercury intakes from fish consumption during pregnancy: Seychelles Child Development Study Nutrition Cohort 2. Neurotoxicology 2024; 101:1-5. [PMID: 38135192 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuro.2023.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
Some health agencies have issued precautionary principle fish advisories to pregnant women based on the presence of methylmercury (MeHg) in fish that could possibly be harmful to the developing fetus. Fish, however, is a rich source of selenium (Se) and other nutrients essential for normal brain development. Selenium is also thought to have a key role in alleviating MeHg toxicity. We estimated the dietary Se and MeHg intakes and dietary Se:Hg molar ratios from the fish consumed in a high fish-eating pregnant cohort where no adverse associations of fish consumption and outcomes has been reported. We used dietary data collected as part of the Seychelles Child Development Study Nutrition Cohort 2 (n = 1419). In this cohort 98% of participants consumed fish, with an average intake of 106.2 g per day. Daily Se intakes from fish consumption were 61.6 µg/ d, within the range recommended during pregnancy. The mean dietary Se:Hg molar ratios was 6. These findings demonstrate that fish consumption exposes pregnant Seychellois women to Se in excess of MeHg. Based on these findings, fish consumption, especially fish with Se:Hg ratios above 1, may help pregnant women achieve optimum dietary Se intakes, which may protect against MeHg toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Wesolowska
- Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health, Ulster University, Coleraine BT52 1SA, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
| | - Alison J Yeates
- Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health, Ulster University, Coleraine BT52 1SA, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
| | - Emeir M McSorley
- Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health, Ulster University, Coleraine BT52 1SA, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
| | - Gene E Watson
- School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, New York, United States
| | | | - Nathalie Bodin
- Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA), Fishing Port, Victoria, Mahé, Republic of Seychelles
| | - Rodney Govinden
- Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA), Fishing Port, Victoria, Mahé, Republic of Seychelles
| | - Juddy Jean-Baptiste
- Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health, Ulster University, Coleraine BT52 1SA, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; The Ministry of Health, Mahé, Republic of Seychelles
| | | | | | - Gary J Myers
- School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, New York, United States
| | - J J Strain
- Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health, Ulster University, Coleraine BT52 1SA, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
| | - Maria S Mulhern
- Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health, Ulster University, Coleraine BT52 1SA, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
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Gochfeld M, Burger J. Mercury interactions with selenium and sulfur and the relevance of the Se:Hg molar ratio to fish consumption advice. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2021; 28:18407-18420. [PMID: 33507504 PMCID: PMC8026698 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-12361-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Accepted: 01/02/2021] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Eating fish is often recommended as part of a healthful diet. However, fish, particularly large predatory fish, can contain significant levels of the highly toxic methylmercury (MeHg). Ocean fish in general also contain high levels of selenium (Se), which is reported to confer protection against toxicity of various metals including mercury (Hg). Se and Hg have a high mutual binding affinity, and each can reduce the toxicity of the other. This is an evolving area of extensive research and controversy with variable results in the animal and epidemiologic literature. MeHg is toxic to many organ systems through high affinity for -SH (thiol) ligands on enzymes and microtubules. Hg toxicity also causes oxidative damage particularly to neurons in the brain. Hg is a potent and apparently irreversible inhibitor of the selenoenzymes, glutathione peroxidases (GPX), and thioredoxin reductases (TXNRD) that are important antioxidants, each with a selenocysteine (SeCys) at the active site. Hg binding to the SeCys inhibits these enzymes, accounting in part for the oxidative damage that is an important manifestation of Hg toxicity, particularly if there is not a pool of excess Se to synthesize new enzymes. A molar excess of Se reflected in an Se:Hg molar ratio > 1 is often invoked as evidence that the Hg content can be discounted. Some recent papers now suggest that if the Se:Hg molar ratio exceeds 1:1, the fish is safe and the mercury concentration can be ignored. Such papers suggested that the molar ratio rather than the Hg concentration should be emphasized in fish advisories. This paper examines some of the limitations of current understanding of the Se:Hg molar ratio in guiding fish consumption advice; Se is certainly an important part of the Hg toxicity story, but it is not the whole story. We examine how Hg toxicity relates also to thiol binding. We suggest that a 1:1 molar ratio cannot be relied on because not all of the Se in fish or in the fish eater is available to interact with Hg. Moreover, in some fish, Se levels are sufficiently high to warrant concern about Se toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Gochfeld
- Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
- Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institutes, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA.
| | - Joanna Burger
- Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institutes, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
- Division of Life Science, Rutgers University, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
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de Souza-Araujo J, Andrades R, de Oliveira Lima M, Hussey NE, Giarrizzo T. Maternal and embryonic trace element concentrations and stable isotope fractionation in the smalleye smooth-hound (Mustelus higmani). Chemosphere 2020; 257:127183. [PMID: 32497841 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2020] [Revised: 05/18/2020] [Accepted: 05/21/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Here, we evaluate maternal offloading of 16 trace elements (Essential: Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Se and Zn; Nonessential: Al, As, Ba, Cd, Hg, Pb, Tl and U) and determine mother-offspring isotopic fractionation of δ13C and δ15N in muscle and liver tissue of four pregnant Mustelus higmani and 18 associated embryos sampled from the Amazon Coast of Brazil. Embryo muscle tissue had significantly higher concentrations of most trace elements when compared to mothers, with the exception of Hg. Embryo liver accumulated more nonessential elements than muscle (n = 7 vs. 0, respectively), while the Se:Hg molar ratio was >1 in liver and muscle of both mothers and embryos. Livers of embryos were moderately enriched in δ13C and δ15N when compared to that of their mother. Negative correlations were observed between embryo body length and δ13C and trace elements concentrations. We conclude that mothers offload a large portion of all essential elements and Al, As and Pb to their young and that the isotopic fractionation of embryos reflects maternal diet and habitat occupied, with δ13C diluted with embryonic growth. We also show that muscle and liver accumulate trace elements at different rates relative to the body length of embryos. The Se:Hg molar ratio suggests that Se could play a protective role against Hg toxicity during early stages of M. higmani embryonic development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliana de Souza-Araujo
- Núcleo de Ecologia Aquática e Pesca da Amazônia, Universidade Federal Do Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil.
| | - Ryan Andrades
- Núcleo de Ecologia Aquática e Pesca da Amazônia, Universidade Federal Do Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil; Laboratório de Ictiologia, Departamento de Oceanografia e Ecologia, Universidade Federal Do Espírito Santo, Vitória, ES, Brazil
| | - Marcelo de Oliveira Lima
- Laboratório de Toxicologia, Sessão de Meio Ambiente, Instituto Evandro Chagas, Ananindeua, PA, Brazil
| | - Nigel E Hussey
- Integrative Biology. University of Windsor. Windsor, Ontario, Canada
| | - Tommaso Giarrizzo
- Núcleo de Ecologia Aquática e Pesca da Amazônia, Universidade Federal Do Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil
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Wang X, Wu L, Sun J, Wei Y, Zhou Y, Rao Z, Yuan L, Liu X. Mercury Concentrations and Se:Hg Molar Ratios in Flyingfish (Exocoetus volitans) and Squid (Uroteuthis chinensis). Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 2018; 101:42-48. [PMID: 29881941 DOI: 10.1007/s00128-018-2369-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2017] [Accepted: 05/25/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
We measured total mercury (Hg) and selenium (Se) concentrations as well as stable nitrogen (N) isotopic composition in flyingfish and squid muscle tissues from the eastern Indian Ocean and western South China Sea. The results showed that the mean Hg concentration in squid muscle from the western South China Sea was lower than that in the eastern Indian Ocean. The Hg concentrations in flyingfish and squid muscle samples were positively correlated with organism size (length and weight) and δ15N in all the study areas. Furthermore, we found a negative correlation between Se and Hg in molar content of flyingfish and squid muscle from the western South China Sea. The Se:Hg molar ratio was significantly negative correlated with fish weight and δ15N, suggesting that the Se:Hg molar ratio decreases with the increase of fish size and trophic level in the food web.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xueying Wang
- School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
| | - Libin Wu
- School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
| | - Jing Sun
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Yangyang Wei
- School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
| | - Yongli Zhou
- School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
| | - Zixuan Rao
- School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
| | - Linxi Yuan
- Jiangsu Bio-Engineering Research Centre for Selenium, Suzhou, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaodong Liu
- School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China.
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China.
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