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Bioaccumulation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Gilthead Sea Bream (Sparus aurata L.) Exposed to Long Term Feeding Trials with Different Experimental Diets

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Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (16 EPA list) were determined in oils, fish feed, and fillets from gilthead sea bream fed through a full production cycle (14 months) with feed containing different proportions of fish oil replaced by vegetable oils, followed by a finishing phase with fish oil. At the beginning of the study, fish presented 46.6 μg/kg fresh weight of the sum of PAHs in fillet and a benzo[a]pyrene equivalent value of 9.1 μg/kg fresh weight. These levels decreased after 330 days of rearing to values around 2 μg/kg. Although the concentration increased again during the finishing phase, they remained low. These low concentrations of PAHs could be the result of a dilution process associated with fish growth and with the detoxification pathways, both favored by the low levels of PAHs present in the feeds and the lack of any other potential source of contamination during the whole rearing period.

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Acknowledgment

This study was carried out with the financial support of the European Union Project: Sustainable Aquafeeds to Maximise the Health Benefits of Farmed Fish for Consumers (AQUAMAX), contract number 016249-2.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute for Pesticides and Water (IUPA), University Jaume I, Avda Sos Baynat, s/n, 12071, Castellon, Spain

    Jaime Nácher-Mestre, Roque Serrano & Francisco J. López

  2. Institute of Aquaculture of Torre la Sal (IATS), C.S.I.C, 12595, Ribera de Cabanes, Castellon, Spain

    Laura Benedito-Palos, Juan C. Navarro & Jaume Pérez-Sánchez

  3. UMR 1067, INRA, Nutrition, Aquaculture and Genomics, Unité-Mixte INRA-IFREMER-Univ. Bordeaux I, 64310, Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle, France

    Sadasivam Kaushik

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  1. Jaime Nácher-Mestre
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  2. Roque Serrano
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  3. Laura Benedito-Palos
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  4. Juan C. Navarro
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  5. Francisco J. López
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  6. Sadasivam Kaushik
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  7. Jaume Pérez-Sánchez
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Correspondence to Roque Serrano.

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Nácher-Mestre, J., Serrano, R., Benedito-Palos, L. et al. Bioaccumulation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Gilthead Sea Bream (Sparus aurata L.) Exposed to Long Term Feeding Trials with Different Experimental Diets. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 59, 137–146 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-009-9445-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-009-9445-1

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