Abstract
This study focuses on mercury (Hg) bioaccumulation in Indian cat fish, Wallagoo attu and Mystus aor, from different rivers. Methyl mercury (MeHg) concentrations were determined in muscle tissue of two different parts, ventral and dorsal part, of each species and the levels of organic mercury were co-related with lipid content of each part. The MeHg concentrations increased in a linear fashion with both weight and age for these river species. The average concentration of MeHg was found to be 0.93 ± 0.60 and 1.26 ± 0.62 μg Hg g−1 (expressed in wet weight basis) for ventral and dorsal parts, respectively in W. attu and this was above the 0.25 μg Hg g−1 of wet weight, the limit set by the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act for the maximum level for consumption of fish exposed to mercury pollution. In M. Aor the concentration of MeHg was not above the standard limit but threatening, it was 0.22 ± 0.07 and 0.23 ± 0.08 μg Hg g−1 (expressed in wet weight basis) in dorsal and ventral parts, respectively.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- MeHg:
-
Methyl mercury
- BBB:
-
Blood–brain barrier
References
Aschner, M. (1996). Astrocytes as modulators of mercury-induced neurotoxicity. Neurotoxicology, 17, 663–670.
Bidone, E. D., Castilhos, Z. C., Santos, T. J. S., & Souza, T. M. C. (1997). Fish contamination and human exposure to mercury in Tartarugalzinho River, Northern Amazon, Brazil: a screening approach. Water, Air, Soil Pollution, 97, 9–15.
Bjorklund, I., Borg, H., & Johansson, K. (1984). Mercuy in Swedish lakes its regional distribution and cause. Ambio, 13, 118–121.
Bligh, E. G., & Dyer, W. J. (1959). A rapid method for total lipid extraction purification. Canadian Journal of Biochemical Physiology, 37, 911–917.
Bloom, N. S. (1992). On the chemical form of mercury in edible fish and marine invertebrate tissue. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science, 49, 1010–1017.
Bowen, S. H. (1983). Quantitative description of the diet. In L. A. Nielsen & D. L. Johnson (Eds.), Fisheries techniques (pp. 325–336). Bethesda, MD, USA: American Fisheries Society.
Campbell, L. M., Osano, O., Heckya, R. E., & Dixona, D. G. (2003). Mercury in fish from three rift valley lakes (Turkana, Naivasha and Baringo), Kenya, East Africa. Environmental Pollution, 125, 281–286.
Clarkson, T. W. (2002). The three modern faces of mercury. Environmental Health Perspective, 110(suppl 1), 11–23.
Dalton, L. W. (2004). Methyl mercury toxicity probed. Chemical & Engineering News, 82, 70–71.
David, A. (1963). Fishery and biology of the Schilbeid catfish, Pangasius pangasius (Ham.) and utility and propagation in culture ponds. Indian Journal of Fisheries, 10(2), 521–600.
Harris, H. H., Pickering, I. J., & George, G. N. (2003). The chemical form of mercury in fish. Science, 301, 1203.
Holsbeek, L., Das, H. K., & Joiris, C. R. (1997). Mercury speciation and accumulation in Bangladesh freshwater and anadromous fish. Science of Total Environment, 198, 201–210.
Hultberg, B., Anderson, A., & Isaksson, A. (2001). Interaction of metals and thiols in cell damage and glutathione distribution: potentiation of mercury toxicity by dithiothreitol. Toxicology, 156, 93–100.
Joiris, C. R., Ali, I. B., Holbeek, L., & Bossicart, M. (1995). Total and organic mercury in Barent sea Pelagic fish. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination & Toxicology, 55, 674–681.
Khaniki, G. R. J., Alli, I., Noroozi, E., & Nabizadeh, R. (2005). Mercury contamination in fish and public health aspects: a review. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition, 4(5), 276–281.
Lacerda, L. D., Bidone, E. D., Giumaraes, A. F., & Pfeiffer, W. C. (1994). Mercury concentrations in fish from the Itacaiunas Parauapebas River System, Carajas region, Amazon. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, 66, 373–379.
Maršálek, P., & Svobodová, Z. (2006). Rapid determination of methyl mercury in fish tissues. Czech Journal of Food Science, 24, 138–142.
Mason, R. P., Reinfelder, J. R., & Morel, F. M. M. (1995). Bioaccumulation of mercury and methyl mercury. Water Air and Soil Pollution, 80, 915–921.
Pal, M., Ghosh, S., Mukhopadhyay, M., & Ghosh, M. (2011). Methyl mercury in fish—a case study on various samples collected from Ganges River at West Bengal. Environmental Monitoring & Assessment. doi:10.1007/s10661-011-2193-5.
Phillips, G. R., Lenhart, T. E., & Gregory, R. W. (1980). Relations between trophic position and mercury accumulation among fishes from the Tongue River Reservoir, Montana. Environmental Research, 22, 73–80.
Rao, A. N. (2005). Trace element estimation—methods and clinical context. Online Journal of Health and Allied Science, 4(1), 0972–5997.
The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (1954). Together with prevention of adulteration rules, (1955) and notification and commodity index, India (amended, 2002). Lucknow: Eastern Book Company. Table No. R-57, 106–110.
Thomas, J. D. (1966). On the biology of the catfish Clarias senegalensis in a man-made lake in the Gahnian Savanna with particular reference to its feeding habits. Journal of Zoology, 148, 476–514.
Acknowledgments
This work was funded by University of Calcutta under “University with Potential for Excellence” scheme awarded by the Government of India. A sincere acknowledgement is due to Dr. S. Ghosh, Associate Professor, Dept. of Chemical Technology, University of Calcutta, for his valuable suggestions during the course of this work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pal, M., Ghosh, M. Relationship of methyl mercury accumulation with lipid and weight in two river cat fish species, Wallagoo attu and Mystus aor, from West Bengal, India. Environ Monit Assess 185, 31–37 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-012-2530-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-012-2530-3