Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in small island coastal environments: a case study from harbours in Guam, Micronesia

Occurrence and patterns of nutritional traits and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sea cucumber (Holothuria polii) tissues: benefits and risk for human health

Objectives

The paper evaluated the benefit and risk for human health associated with consumption of sea cucumber H. polii from Italian coasts (Central Mediterranean Sea).

Materials and Methods

body wall-BW, internal tunic-ITu, muscle bands-MB, alimentary canal-AC, gonad-Gd and respiratory tree-RT of H. polii were analyzed for proximate composition. Moreover, aminoacids, fatty acids and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined with HPLC UV/Vis, GC-FID and GC-MS, respectively.

Results

Differences in the contents of Total Aminoacids (TAA) occurred based on tissue and sex, with AC and MB of female and Gd of male showing higher contents (range 47.8 -60.2 g/kg ww). Glycine and glutamic acid were the most abundant. Polyunsaturated (PUFA) was the major class of fatty acids and Arachidonic and Eicosapentaenoic (EPA) acids were the predominant PUFA. n-3 PUFA showed higher content in Gd, AC and RT indicating a higher quality. A favorable n-3/n-6 in the range 1.04-1.67 was observed. PAHs showed values ranged from 23 to 207 µg/kg ww with the highest levels in Gd-AC tissues and the lower in BW. Benzo[a]Pyrene, the most toxic compound, was detected in all tissues, of both sexes, at levels of 1.5-18 µg/Kg ww.

Conclusion

All tissues of H. polii, although with differences among them, are valuable food and can contribute for a healthy diet. Excess Cancer risk (CR) values for Gd and AC tissues, were above the considerable CR threshold of one in ten thousand established by USEPA, for high ingestion rate of these seafood.

Marine sponges as bioindicators of oil and combustion derived PAH in coastal waters

The present study evaluates the potential of Hymeniacidon heliophila as bioindicator of PAH contamination. For this, concentration of 33 PAH was determined in organisms from sites with different contamination level including the heavily polluted Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, and less impacted coastal areas. PAH concentration and typology were determined in sponges collected from different depths and in two different seasons. The brown mussel broadly studied as bioindicator was also sampled from the same sites for comparison. Both species provided similar information on total PAH concentration which is related to site contamination level. Sponges, however, revealed slight tendency to accumulation of combustion-derived PAH in relation to petrogenic compounds. Differences in PAH typology between species may derive from the interspecific variation in particle size ingestion. Different hydrocarbon typologies were observed in sponges from dry and wet season and PAH concentration varied with depth. H. heliophila may be used as an alternative approach to investigate the presence and sources of PAH in estuarine areas.

Effect of β-naphthoflavone on hepatic cytochrome P4501A activity in the scribbled rabbitfish (Siganus spinus) from tropical Indo-Pacific coral reefs

Several classes of carcinogenic environmental organic pollutants, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, and dioxins, negatively affect aquatic ecosystems worldwide. Pollutant detection is often difficult and expensive, especially when dealing with complex mixtures and matrices. Biological markers are informative tools to identify living sources that may harbor toxic compounds and areas unsuitable for recreation. Currently, no species have established biomarkers for organopollutant monitoring in Indo-Pacific coral reefs. This study evaluated the time- and dose-dependent induction of the cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) system in the scribbled rabbitfish, Siganus spinus (Siganidae), as a biomarker for organic pollutant exposures in these environments. Results indicate that S. spinus hepatic CYP1A enzymatic activity and protein level respond dose-, and time-dependently following a single intraperitoneal injection of the classic aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonist, β-naphthoflavone. S. spinus hepatic CYP1A protein and enzymatic activity rose as function of dose during the first two days and slowly returned to levels close to normal after 16 days, as measured using the 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase and the non-competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, respectively. These findings support use of the inducible CYP1A system of S. spinus as a biomarker for reef fish exposure to coastal marine pollution. Baseline CYP1A expression levels among Guam's wild S. spinus populations were also measured and compared.

Supercritical fluid extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from seaweed samples before and after the prestige oil spill

Samples of seaweed which are used for human consumption were collected along the Galician coast (NW Spain), in order to determine the level of contamination from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, by supercritical fluid extraction and liquid chromatographic analysis. No detection was made of benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[ghi]perylene and dibenzo[ah]anthracene. PAHs were found and quantified in only two samples. The PAHs found were the following: anthracene, chrysene, fluoranthene, fluorene and pyrene. The levels found were below maximum limits established by the Spanish Food Safety authority (<200 mg/kg dry weight). Here we show that no relevant effects were detected in terms of PAHs contamination in seaweed.