Abstract
Total mercury (Hg) and selenium (Se) contents were determined in oysters Saccostrea palmula and Crassostrea corteziensis soft tissues from four coastal lagoons of the southeastern Gulf of California. The annual Hg mean concentrations for S. palmula (0.09 ± 0.04 µg g− 1, wet weight) and C. corteziensis (0.08 ± 0.04 µg g− 1) were similar (p ˃ 0.05) among the lagoons and did not exceed the limit established by the Norma Oficial Mexicana and World Health Organization (< 1.0 µg g− 1 Hg). On the other hand, the annual mean concentrations of Se for S. palmula (3.34 ± 0.96 µg g− 1) and C. corteziensis (2.79 ± 0.89 µg g− 1) were higher (p < 0.05) in El Colorado lagoon. The Se/Hg molar ratios were above 1; the positive selenium health benefit value index suggested that Se load in oysters could reduce the Hg potential toxic effect. The hazard quotient for Hg in both species was below 1. Therefore, the consumption of oysters does not represent a risk due to Hg ingestion.
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Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful for the support from Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), through Secretaría de Investigación y Posgrado, Estímulo al Desempeño de los Investigadores, and Comisión de Operaciones y Fomento de Actividades; also grateful to the Sistema Nacional de Investigadores (SNI-CONAHCyT) and the proyect PROFAPI 2022 PRO_A1_001. Carlos Humberto Sepúlveda and Maria Isabel Sotelo-Gonzalez thank CONAHCyT for the research fellowship. Thanks to Juan Antonio Hernández Sepúlveda and Dionicio López for participated in the biological sampling, to Diana Fischer for English edition.
Funding
This research study was funded by the Secretaría de Investigación y Posgrado (SIP) of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN) through the projects: SIP 20200526 “Incidencia estacional de nematodos y Perkinsus marinus de la Almeja venus Chione undatella de bahía de La Paz y del Puerto Minero de Santa Rosalía, Baja California Sur, México” and SIP 20200527 “Morfometría y fisiología de la Almeja venus Chione undatella de bahía de La Paz y del Puerto Minero de Santa Rosalía, Baja California Sur, México”.
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Sepúlveda, C.H., Sotelo-Gonzalez, M.I., García-Ulloa, M. et al. Mercury and selenium in oysters Saccostrea palmula and Crassostrea corteziensis from coastal lagoons of the southeastern Gulf of California: molar ratio and risk assessment on human health. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 111, 20 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-023-03776-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-023-03776-8