Exposure Assessment of methyl mercury from consumption of fish and seafood in Peninsular Malaysia

Wan Rozita Wan Mahiyuddin,Wan Nurul Farah Wan Azmi,Rafiza Shaharudin,Lokman Hakim Sulaiman,Nurul Izzah Ahmad,Ruzanaz Syafira Ruzman Azlee

doi:10.1007/s11356-021-17483-6

Abstract

The concentration of meHg in freshwater fish and seafood was investigated, as well as the consumption patterns of fish and seafood by different demographic groups (age, ethnicity, gender). A potential alarm for human health hazards was also assessed, and the results were compared to the provisional tolerable weekly intakes (PTWIs) and the hazard quotient parameter (HQ). The results showed that meHg levels of 67 species ranged from 0.013 to 0.252 mg/kg of wet weight (WW) with significant differences between different fish and seafood groups (χ2KW = 49.09; p < 0.001). Median concentrations of meHg in fish and seafood groups in descending orders are as follows: demersal fish (0.1006 mg/kg WW) > pelagic fish (0.0686 mg/kg WW) > freshwater fish 0.045 mg/kg WW) > cephalopods (0.0405 mg/kg WW) crustaceans (0.0356 mg/kg WW). The results revealed that older population (> 40 years old) consumed significantly (p = 0.000) more fish compared to younger generations and the elderly consumed the highest amounts of fish (104.0 ± 113.0 g/day). The adolescents (10–17 years old) consumed more than double of amount for both cephalopod and crustacean compared to the older populations (p < 0.05). Malay ethnic (96.1 ± 99.6 g/day) consumed significantly (p = 0.000) higher amounts of fish and seafood compared to other ethnicities, similar to male subjects (95.2 ± 102 g/day; p = 0.026) when compared to the female (86 ± 96.3 g/day). The estimated weekly intake (EWI) values showed results below 1.6 µg/kg BW/week, the tolerable levels recommended by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) for all different demographic factors except for higher consumers at 75th percentile and above. Consumption of marine fish contributed to a higher value of PTWI to all different demographic groups (the estimated weekly intake (EWI) range: 0.2988–0.6893 µg/kg BW/week) but for the adolescents, where from the consumption of crustaceans (0.3488 µg/kg BW/week or 21.8% of PTWI) and cephalopods (0.504 µg/kg BW/week or 31.5% of PTWI). The results from this study also revealed the HQ value for overall consumption of fish and seafood by the adolescents and elderly exceeded one. This was contributed from the consumption of demersal fish and cephalopods, thus indicating the nonacceptable level of noncarcinogenic adverse health effects.

Highlights

Fish and seafood are a good source of energy and proteins, as well as key nutrients like minerals and vitamins, and they have a lot of health benefits (Mehouel et al 2019; Barone et al 2015)
Fish and seafood groups were comprised of 8 species of cephalopods, 12 species of crustaceans, 23 species of demersal fish, 1 species of freshwater fish, and 23 species of pelagic fish
While for cephalopods and crustaceans as well as the freshwater catfish, meHg levels were nearly half compared to the marine fish at 0.045, 0.046, and 0.066 mg/kg WW, respectively

Summary

Introduction

Fish and seafood are a good source of energy and proteins, as well as key nutrients like minerals and vitamins, and they have a lot of health benefits (Mehouel et al 2019; Barone et al 2015). It contains eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs), which are vital unsaturated fatty acids linked to excellent health (Barone et al 2015; Larsen et al 2011; McManus et al 2011). MeHg could potentially be one of the risk factors for infertility (Hsi et al 2016)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion