Protective effects of freeze dried swordfish on methylmercury chloride toxicity in rats

Importance of Molar Ratios in Selenium-Dependent Protection Against Methylmercury Toxicity

“…Based on the abundance of Se and its favorable molar excess over Hg, ocean fish appear more likely to protect against Hg toxicity than to contribute to causing it. Several studies have demonstrated that Se from yellowfin tuna [7,17], menhaden [18], swordfish [19], and rockfish [20] counteract the adverse impacts of Hg exposure, further supporting the likelihood that Se from fish provides significant natural protection. However, risks associated with consumption of certain seafoods that contain high and disproportionate amounts of Hg in molar excess of Se are expected to be directly related to their Hg to Se ratios.…”

“…However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for these toxic effects remain incompletely defined, making it difficult to evaluate risks associated with low-level MeHg exposures from seafood consumption [1][2][3][4]. Selenium (Se)-dependent protection against Hg toxicity has been recognized for 50 years [5] and has since been demonstrated in all species evaluated [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22], but the molecular mechanism responsible for Se-dependent protective effects remains as incompletely defined as those of Hg toxicity. However, because of the high binding affinity (10 45 M) between Hg and Se [23], direct Hg sequestration by Se has often been assumed responsible for the mechanism of Se's protective effect [1,24,25].…”

Selenium Health Benefit Values as Seafood Safety Criteria

“…Studies demonstrating Se-dependent amelioration of MeHg toxicity have included Se from yellowfin tuna (Ohi et al, 1976;Ganther et al, 1972), menhaden (Stillings et al, 1974), swordfish (Freidman et al, 1978), and rockfish (Ohi et al, 1980). Therefore, the organic forms of Se present in ocean fish are bioavailable and effective in counteracting MeHg toxicity.…”

Selenium and Mercury in Pelagic Fish in the Central North Pacific Near Hawaii

“…The first report on the protective effect of Se against Hg toxicity appeared in 1967 [19]. Since then, numerous studies have shown that Se counteracts the adverse impacts of Hg exposure [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] including Se from yellowfin tuna [21,32], menhaden [33], swordfish [34], and rockfish [35]. The ability of Se to decrease the toxic action of Hg has been established in all species investigated to date [36,37].…”