Eating tropical fruit reduces mercury exposure from fish consumption

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Environ Res. 2003 Oct;93(2):123-30.

Eating tropical fruit reduces mercury exposure from fish consumption in the

Brazilian Amazon.

Passos CJ, Mergler D, Gaspar E, Morais S, Lucotte M, Larribe F, son R,

de Grosbois S.

Centre d'etudes des interactions biologiques entre la sante et

l'environnement (CINBIOSE),

Universite du Quebec a Montreal, CP 8888, Succ Centre-ville, Montreal,

Canada H3P 3P8.

passos.carlos@...

This study aimed to examine the influence of the consumption of traditional

foods on the

relationship between fish consumption and mercury (Hg) exposure. A 12-month

prospective dietary

survey was carried out with 26 adult women from a fish-eating community in

the Brazilian Amazon.

Food ingestion was determined using a daily food diary, and total hair Hg

levels were assessed for

each month through sequential analyses using cold vapor atomic absorption

spectrometry. Simple and

multiple regression analyses showed that the strong relationship between

fish consumption and Hg

exposure was significantly modified by fruit consumption: for the same

number of fish meals, those

who ate more tropical fruits had lower hair mercury levels. The findings of

this study indicate

different ways of maintaining fish consumption while reducing Hg exposure in

the Amazon. A number of

phytochemicals and nutritional fibers present in fruits might be interacting

with Hg in several

ways: absorption and excretion, transport, binding to target proteins,

metabolism, and

sequestration. More studies are required on larger populations to further

elucidate the extent and

public health implications of the use of fruits to counteract the toxic

action of methylmercury.

PMID: 12963396 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]