High-quality food helps reduce toxins in the food chain
1 min read
Research led by Dartmouth scientists found that animals fed nutritious, high-quality food end up with much lower concentrations of toxic methylmercury in their tissues. The result suggests ways in which methylmercury–a neurotoxin that can accumulate to hazardous levels–can be slowed in its passage up the food chain to fish.
“This research provides evidence that by eating high-quality food, organisms may reduce their bodily concentration of a contaminant,” said lead author Roxanne Karimi, a graduate student in the Dartmouth Department of Biological Sciences. “These findings allow us to predict the conditions under which freshwater fish are likely to carry relatively high mercury levels.”
