New Insights on the Fate of Mercury in Riverside Amazon Populations

• Grant number: 24/15043-1
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Visiting Researcher Grant - International
• Start date: December 15, 2024
• End date: March 07, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Pharmacy - Toxicological Analysis
• Principal Investigator: Fernando Barbosa Júnior
• Grantee: Fernando Barbosa Júnior
• Visiting researcher: Zoyne Pedrero Zayas
• Visiting researcher institution: Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, France
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto (FCFRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Mercury (Hg) pollution has a well-known impact, highlighted by the Minamata Convention on Hg. Certain populations are especially vulnerable and at high risk. The Brazilian Amazon is one of the regions most affected by mercury pollution globally. Here, mercury enters aquatic ecosystems through human activities, primarily gold mining, and natural processes like soil leaching. This leads to high mercury levels in Amazonian fish. Consequently, riverside communities, who rely heavily on fish for their diet, experience some of the highest mercury exposure in the world today.Due to its extreme toxicity, Hg has recently been included in the list of the top ten chemicals of primary public health concern by the World Health Organization (WHO). However, Hg metabolic pathways in biota remain poorly understood. It is crucial to elucidate its (eco)toxic effects and identify essential drivers of the Hg biogeochemical cycle. This study aims to shed light on the metabolic pathways involved in Hg fate in this specific population through cuttingedge analyses in blood, hair and urine, including the identification of Hg metabolites and their dynamics (bioaccumulation, excretion, detoxification) (AU)