Bioaccumulation monitoring of chemical contaminants in musselsMytilus galloprovincialis from the southern coast of the Marmara Sea, Turkey

Serhat Çolakoğlu,Fatma Çolakoğlu,İbrahim Ender Küni̇li̇

doi:10.3906/vet-1905-7

Abstract

Mytilus galloprovincialis, the Mediterranean mussel, is an important shellfish species that constitutes the majority of production and consumption among bivalve mollusks in Turkey. Since shellfish can accumulate toxic chemicals from seawater, it is important to monitor bioaccumulation from their natural beds. For this reason, in this study, the aim was to monitor the levels of dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls PCBs , polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAHs , and toxic metals Pb, Cd, and Hg in M. galloprovincialis collected from the southern coast of the Marmara Sea from 2014 to 2017. According to the results, the maximum levels of dioxins, PAHs, and toxic metals during the monitoring period were determined as 0.30 pg/g, 2.52 mg/kg, and 0.43–0.34–0.76 Pb–Cd–Hg mg/kg, respectively. Dioxin, PAHs, and toxic metal amounts in mussel samples were determined to be below the threshold levels enforced by the European Commission. The highest benzo a pyrene and total PAHs were determined in winter 2015, while toxic metals, dioxins, and dioxin-like PCBs WHO/PCDD/F-PCB-TEQ were higher in autumn 2014 than the rest of the sampling period. In conclusion, toxic chemicals monitored in M. galloprovincialis were found at low concentrations from the point of view of food safety. However, monitoring of these or other toxic chemicals should be repetitively performed in the future to ensure food safety in aquatic animals

Highlights

Shellfish are known to be nutritional and well-balanced diet components for humans for many years
Levels of dioxins The levels of total dioxins, total dioxins with dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and a total of six important PCBs are summarized in Figure 2 as picogram (1.0 × 10–12) World Health Organization–Toxic Equivalent/gram of wet weight of samples
The Toxic equivalent (TEQ) values of total dioxins, dioxin-like PCBs, and six important PCBs were found in the range of 0.01–0.38 pg WHO-TEQ/g for all samples from both stations during the period

Summary

Introduction

Shellfish are known to be nutritional and well-balanced diet components for humans for many years. They are filter-feeding organisms and can take up all components found in seawater. Toxic chemicals accumulate in living organisms and cause biomagnification, which ends in humans having highly elevated levels [1]. Exposure to these chemicals generally leads to some serious impacts in humans such as neurological, carcinogenic, systemic, and immunological effects [2]

Methods

Results

Conclusion