Tissue-specific distribution of fatty acids, polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in fish from Taihu Lake, China, and the benefit-risk assessment of their co-ingestion

The fish tissues from four species collected from Taihu Lake, China, were analyzed including dorsal, ventral, and tail muscles, heart, liver, and kidney. The highest and lowest concentrations of fatty acids were respectively observed in livers and muscles. There were significant intraspecies and interspecies differences in the compositions of most fatty acids among muscle, heart, liver, and kidney. All the tissues were generally beneficial for consumption considering fatty acids. People mainly consume the muscle. Hence, the benefits from two polyunsaturated fatty acids, i.e., eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and risks from PCBs and PBDEs via fish consumption were evaluated by calculating the benefit-risk quotient (BFQ) for the intake of fish muscle containing EPA + DHA vs. PCBs or PBDEs. The BFQ values considering carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic effects for PCBs were ∼3000 and 10 times higher than those of PBDEs via fish consumption to achieve the recommended EPA + DHA intake of 250 mg d−1, respectively. The results also suggested that the risk consuming the dorsal muscle was generally lower than the ventral and tail muscles.