Interrelationship between the Concentration of Toxic and Essential Elements in Korean Tissues.

Abstract

In the past a few decades, particular interest has been focused on the distribution and interaction between toxic and essential elements in animals and humans, since such interactions might have adaptive implications to environmental pollution. The current study was performed to assess the correlation of elemental concentration with age and the correlation between toxic and essential elements in Koreans. Toxic elements, such as Cd, Pb, Hg, and essential elements such as Se and Zn, were analyzed in internal organs (liver, kidney cortex, kidney medulla, heart, lung, spleen, cerebrum, testis and bone) of 162 Korean cadavers. The tissues were digested with a microwave digestion system and the 5 elements were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. Positive correlation with age was observed in the following cases: Cd in the liver, kidney cortex, kidney medulla, heart and testis; Pb in testis and bone. The concentration of Hg, Se and Zn was not correlated with age in any of the tissues tested. A significantly high correlation between Hg and Se, Pb and Se was observed in liver, kidney cortex, kidney medulla, heart, lung, spleen, cerebrum, testis and bone. The correlation between Cd and Zn was significant in the liver, kidney cortex, kidney medulla, heart, lung, cerebrum, testis and bone. These results indicate that the distribution of toxic elements is similar to that of essential elements in all tissues.