Influence of amalgam fillings on Hg levels and total antioxidant activity in plasma of healthy donors.

In order to evaluate the influence of mercury (Hg) levels on antioxidant power in human plasma, 26 healthy people were evaluated by a dentist and their plasma analyzed for Hg content by atomic absorption and total antioxidant activity (TAA) by FRAP method. Hg plasma concentration correlated with number of amalgam restorations, suggesting that Hg released from fillings is a source of Hg in non-occupational exposed people. Fish consumption, in fact, showed no influence on Hg plasma levels, perhaps because Italian subjects examined in the present group used low quantity of fish at week or kinds of fish with light contamination. TAA negatively correlated with Hg plasma revealing a pro-oxidant role of Hg released from amalgam fillings.