The transfer of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from bivalves,
through the food chain to vertebrates was of concern. Our research aimed at
estimating potential effects for consumers resulting from the ingestion of
seafood contaminated by oil spill pollutants.
After the “Erika” wreck, mussels (Mytilus sp.) were collected
from sites of the Atlantic
coast impacted to various degrees by the oil slick and constituted
contaminated food for rats during 2 and 4 weeks. Genotoxic damage were
studied in rats by means of COMET assay carried out in liver, bone marrow
and peripheral blood. Biochemical and genomic effects such as the induction
of CYP 1A1 and the expression of cytochrome genes were measured in rat
livers.
The most sensitive biological parameter reflecting the transfer of
contaminants via the food appeared to be DNA breaks studied by means of the
COMET assay. Genotoxic damage, observed mainly in the liver, were rather
moderate and remained not persistent. This study underlined the
bioavailability of pollutants in fuel oil contaminated mussels for
consumers, and the complexity of the contamination consecutive to the oil
spill. The occurrence of related PAH compounds in addition to
non-substituted PAHs in fuel oils and mussels raised the question of their
implication in the registered effects.