Correlations of mercury, selenium and other elements in fish tissues from the regions at different mercury-exposure levels

摘要

The contents and correlation of selenium, mercury and other elements in fish liver and muscle tissues collected from Hg-polluted area of Wanshan, Guizhou province of China and no-known Hg-polluted one of Beijing were analyzed. The average content of mercury in Guizhou fish liver was 25-fold higher than that in Beijing one, and 5-fold higher in Guizhou fish muscle than that in Beijing one. For most of the elements, no significant difference on the average content was found between the same tissues of two areas. The molar ratio of Hg/Se increased with the increasing of Hg content and reached to a constant value at the higher level of Hg. Though certain correlation existed among different elements from two areas, the most significant one was found to exist between Hg and Se of the Guizhou fish muscle (r=0.963, P<0.0001). Our results support the fact that a certain interaction does exist between mercury and selenium in organisms including fish, especially at the higher mercury-exposed level, and also indicate Hg-exposure had no obvious effects on distribution of other elements in fish muscle and liver.