Element concentrations in the archiacanthocephalan Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus compared with those in the porcine definitive host from a slaughterhouse in La Paz, Bolivia
B. Sures et al., Element concentrations in the archiacanthocephalan Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus compared with those in the porcine definitive host from a slaughterhouse in La Paz, Bolivia, INT J PARAS, 30(10), 2000, pp. 1071-1076
Concentrations of lead and cadmium, determined by electrothermal atomic abs
orption spectrometry, and concentrations of the elements barium, cadmium, c
opper, iron, magnesium, manganese, nickel, lead, selenium and strontium, de
termined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, in the acanthocep
halan Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus and its porcine final host, sampled
at a slaughterhouse in La Pat, Bolivia, were compared. Inductively coupled
plasma mass spectrometry analysis revealed that most of the elements were f
ound at higher concentrations in the acanthocephalan than in different tiss
ues of its host. The bioconcentration of elements in M. hirudinaceus compar
ed with the host intestine, listed in order of decreasing values, was as fo
llows: Cd > Pb > Ni > Sr = Cu > Mg > Se > Fe = Mn = Ba. Analysis by electro
thermal atomic absorption spectrometry showed that M, hirudinaceus containe
d 85, 85, 56 and 24 times higher lead levels compared with hosts muscle, li
ver, kidney and intestine, respectively. The mean cadmium concentration of
the parasite was 32 times higher than that of the liver and five times high
er compared with porcine kidney. The metal distribution within the body of
M. hirudinaceus was as follows: cement gland > testes > lemnisci > eggs = t
egument for lead and lemnisci > testes > cement gland > tegument > eggs for
cadmium. Therefore, the hypothesis that parasites excrete toxic metals wit
h the shells of their eggs seems not to be valid for nil. hirudinaceus. It
is concluded, that not only eoacanthocephalans and palaeacanthocephalans pa
rasitising fish, but also archiacanthocephalans from mammalian hosts, are a
ble to bioaccumulate metals. (C) 2000 Australian Society for Parasitology I
nc. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.