Recent advances in evaluation of health effects on mercury with special reference to methylmercury-A minireview

Mercury is a metal that has long been used because of its many advantages from the physical and chemical points of view. However, mercury is very toxic to many life forms, including humans, and mercury poisoning has repeatedly been reported. The main chemical forms of mercury are elemental mercury (Hg(0)), divalent mercury (Hg(2+)) and methylmercury (CH(3)-Hg(+)), the toxicities and metabolisms of which differ from each other. Methylmercury is converted from divalent mercury and is a well-known neurotoxicant, having been identified as the cause of Minamata disease. It bioaccumulates in the environment and is biomagnified in the food web. Human exposure to methylmercury is mainly through fish and seafood consumption. Methylmercury easily penetrates the blood-brain barrier and causes damage to the central nervous system, particularly in fetuses. In this paper, we summarize the global mercury cycle and mercury metabolism, toxicity and exposure evaluation, and the thresholds for the onset of symptoms after exposure to different chemical forms of mercury, particularly methylmercury.