Determination and Evaluation of Metallothionein and Metals in Mugil cephalus (Mullet) from Pontal Bay, Brazil

• Published in: Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology Vol. 98; no. 1; pp. 84 - 90
• Main Authors: Pacheco, Clissiane Soares Viana, da Silva, Erik Galvão Paranhos, Hauser-Davis, Rachel Ann, Dias, Fábio, Amorim, Fábio Alan Carqueija, de Jesus, Raildo Mota, Novaes, Cleber Galvão, dos Santos, Ana Maria Pinto, Saint’Pierre, Tatiana Dillenburg
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Analysis; Animals; Anthropogenic factors; Aquatic Pollution; Bays - chemistry; Biomarkers; Biomarkers - analysis; Brazil; Cadmium - analysis; Contamination; Copper - analysis; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental assessment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental Monitoring; Fish; Gills; Gills - chemistry; Lead - analysis; Liver; Liver - chemistry; Metal concentrations; Metallothionein - analysis; Metals; Metals, Heavy - analysis; Mullet; Municipalities; Nickel - analysis; Pollution; Smegmamorpha - metabolism; Soil Science & Conservation; Studies; Toxicity; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollution Control; Brazil; Environmental contamination; Metals; Metallothionein; Mugil cephalus
• ISSN: 0007-4861; 1432-0800
• DOI: 10.1007/s00128-016-1959-4

To assess environmental contamination, studies have been increasingly carried out using biomarkers to diagnose the effects of toxic metal exposure, such as metallothionein (MT). In this context, the aims of the present study were to determine Cd, Cu, Ni and Pb concentrations, by ICP-MS, in liver samples from
Mugil cephalus
from the municipality of Ilhéus, located in North-Southeastern Brazil, in the state of Bahia, which has been increasingly suffering from anthropogenic pressure, and to quantify total MT in liver and gills. Among essential metals, copper (199.2 μg g
−1
) presented concentrations approximately 7 times higher than allowed by the World Health Organization (30 μg g
−1
). Liver samples showed higher concentrations than gills. Metallothionein concentrations indicate differential contamination along the study area. The first sampling showed higher induction of MT synthesis overall. Differences between liver and gill MT concentration trends were relatively minor, which may indicate the adequacy of analyzing gills in an environmental monitoring context.