Abstract
The levels of forty-three elements were determined in fresh, preserved, and frozen mussels (n = 208) with the purpose of evaluating their contribution to the recommended dietary intake of essential elements and their potential risk to Spanish consumers’ health. We found relevant differences in the element content in relation to the mode of conservation of mussels as well as in relation to their geographical origin, brand, or mode of production. According to our estimates, mussels are important contributors to the intake of most essential elements, contributing almost 70% of daily requirements of Se, 30–35% of Mo, Zn, and Co, and around 15% of Fe. At the same time, the pattern of average consumption of mussels in Spain does not seem to imply an excessive risk associated with any of the 36 toxic elements studied. However, it should be noted that, in the high percentile of consumption the exposure to Cd and As may be high, in particular that associated with the consumption of fresh and/or frozen mussels. According to the results of this study, a moderate consumption of mussels can be recommended as a valuable and safe source of trace elements.
Highlights
Fishery products provide many beneficial nutritional components such as long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), high-quality-proteins, essential elements, and vitamins [1,2].Among them, mussels are considered an excellent source of proteins, and it is estimated that a 100 g portion of mussel meat provides a quarter of an adult’s daily protein need
The samples were from Galicia (Spain), Chile, and New Zealand, according to the following distribution (Table 1): i) the canned samples were from Galicia (n = 72, 38 name brands, and 34 store brands) and from Chile (n = 16, all name brands); ii) the frozen samples were from Galicia (n = 36, 8 of them were certified as organic production), from Chile (n = 28), and from New Zealand (n = 12); and iii) the fresh samples were all from Galicia (n = 40)
Occurrence of Essential, Toxic, and Potentially Toxic Elements in Mussels In Table 2 and Table 3, we show the descriptive study of the concentrations found in the three types of mussels considered: preserved, fresh, and frozen
Summary
Fishery products provide many beneficial nutritional components such as long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), high-quality-proteins, essential elements, and vitamins [1,2].Among them, mussels are considered an excellent source of proteins, and it is estimated that a 100 g portion of mussel meat provides a quarter of an adult’s daily protein need. Taking into account all these nutritional facts and summing up that mussels have low cholesterol levels and a low glycemic index, they should be considered a balanced, healthy, and dietary food choice based on its contribution of nutrients. This mollusk is a concern because, in addition to beneficial elements, it has the capacity to accumulate many other toxic or potentially toxic elements [5,6,7,8,9]. Mussels have been widely employed as sentinel organisms in coastal pollution monitoring, in particular in regard to heavy metal contamination [10]. This is because the gill tissue of mussels is rich in metallothionein, and this attribute of mussels constitutes a key interface for the uptake of dissolved metals and their further incorporation into lysosomes and their transport in Nutrients 2019, 11, 864; doi:10.3390/nu11040864 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients
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