抄録
The selenium distribution in the scales or skin as the some inedible tissues and the ordinary muscle of several species of fish at lower trophic levels in marine ecosystem (Japanese sardine Sardinops melenostictus, Silver-stripe herring Spratelloides gracilis, Japanese horse mackerel Trachurus japonicas, Chub mackerel Scomber japonicas, Pacific saury Cololabis saira and Flying fish Cypselurus agoo agoo), generally called "Aomono" in Japanese, containing a small amount of mercury with a large amount of polyunsaturated fatty acid, was investigated in order to clarify the possibility of the available utilization of selenium from those tissues, in relation with the mercury distribution involving the tissues. As a result, each selenium level in the scales or skin in all subjected fish was about the same or somewhat higher than that involving muscle. On the other hand, the mercury level was extremely low compared with the muscle and Se/Hg (the molar ratio of selenium to mercury) as an indicator of the safety of marine products was extremely high compared with that involving muscle, suggesting that the scale or skin will be usually inedible but significantly safe tissue in which low levels of heavy metals such as mercury will tend to accumulate, as in the case of a preceding paper. Moreover, in the present study, the similar results were also obtained for the pectoral fin characteristics of Flying fish. These findings suggest that the available utilization of selenium can also be expected from pectoral fin in addition to the scales or skin of fish, including the improvement of environment.
