Description du projet
De nouvelles informations sur la toxicité du mercure dans le poisson
Le mercure est l’une des dix substances chimiques qui suscitent le plus de préoccupations en matière de santé publique, selon l’OMS. Le poisson et les fruits de mer étant les principales sources d’exposition de l’homme au mercure, les effets du mercure sur la santé humaine méritent d’être étudiés de manière plus approfondie. Le projet MERFISH, financé par l’UE, adoptera de nouvelles approches analytiques pour étudier l’impact du mercure sur les protéines et estimer le rôle du sélénium en matière de détoxification, ce qui offrira une meilleure compréhension des risques et des avantages pour la santé humaine. Les résultats aideront à formuler des directives importantes pour les populations vulnérables, telles que les femmes enceintes et les jeunes enfants, concernant la nécessité d’éviter certaines espèces de poissons à forte teneur en mercure.
Objectif
MERFISH brings together international experts from a wide array of interdisciplinary research areas (analytical chemistry, fish nutrition, environmental science, communication, toxicology & aquaculture) from industry and academia from EU, Brazil and Mauritius, with a long-term goal of furthering the understanding of the source, transport, fate and effects of mercury from fish to humans and the detoxification role of selenium. MERFISH surges from a global demand, directly related to mercury, one of the top ten chemicals of major public health concern identified by the World Health Organization. However, mercury metabolic pathways in biota still remain poorly understood. Its understanding is crucial to elucidate its (eco)toxic effect and to identify important drivers of the mercury biogeochemical cycle.
Fish and seafood consumption is the principal human exposure source to (toxic) methymercury. EU food safety authorities (such as EFSA), and well-known US and United Nation environmental and food organizations (such as USEPA and FAO) clearly advise about avoiding certain fish species for vulnerable populations (including pregnant women and young children) depending on their methymercury concentrations. Mercury binding with proteins has been identified as a potential cause for toxicity and the role of selenium as antagonist for mercury toxicity has been identified but not well understood. MERFISH is based on the development of novel analytical approaches to gather new knowledge about mercury and selenium mechanisms in fish and humans. The project will be a critical contribution to establishing more realistic scenarios to estimate human health risk and benefits, but also to better capture the economic impacts on commercial fisheries. MERSFISH will build a lasting research network to answer emerging challenges in analytical chemistry, food safety, trophic transfer, fish nutrition and environmental and human health related to the global mercury issue.
Champ scientifique
- natural scienceschemical sciencesanalytical chemistry
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrytransition metals
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesenvironmental sciences
- engineering and technologyother engineering and technologiesfood technologyfood safety
- natural sciencesbiological scienceszoologyichthyology
Mots‑clés
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
MSCA-RISE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE)Coordinateur
75794 Paris
France