Pollution Status of Microcystins in Retail Marine Shellfish in Coastal Cities of Fujian

Objective  To investigate the pollution status of microcystins MCs (MC-RR, MC-YR, and MC-LR) in retail marine shellfish in coastal cities of Fujian.

Method  A total of 80 retail marine shellfish (Venerupis philippinarum, Mytilus edulis, Sinonovacula constricta, and Ostrea gigas) were sampled from four coastal cities of Fujian Province (Xiamen, Putian, Fuzhou, and Ningde) in the summer of 2015. High-performance liquid phase chromatography with diode array was used to detect MC-RR, MC-YR, and MC-LR in marine shellfish. ANOVA or rank sum test was performed to compare the pollution status in different cities.

Result  In the 80 samples of marine shellfish, the positive rates of three subtypes of microcystins (MC-RR, MC-YR and MC-LR) were 50%, 69%, and 44%, respectively. There were significant differences in the positive rate of MC-LR in the four cities (χ²=20.064, P<0.001). MC-YR was detected in all marine shellfish samples, and three subtypes of MCs were found in all Sinonovacula constrictas and Ostrea gigas samples. Additionally, the highest average levels of MCs pollution were observed in Sinonovacula constricta in Ningde (0.312 μg/g) and Ostrea gigas in Putian (0.316 μg/g), respectively.

Conclusion  Varied levels of microcystins contamination are identified in four kinds of retail marine shellfish in Fujian coastal cities.