Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in maricultured fish, Lates calcarifer (Barramudi), Lutjanus campechanus (red snapper) and Lutjanus griseus (grey snapper)

Nasri Nasyitah Sobihah; Aris Ahmad Zaharin; Mohammad Khairul Nizam; Looi Ley Juen; Kim Kyoung-Woong

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.12.187

Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in maricultured fish, Lates calcarifer (Barramudi), Lutjanus campechanus (red snapper) and Lutjanus griseus (grey snapper)

Chemosphere. 2018 Apr:197:318-324. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.12.187. Epub 2018 Jan 2.

Authors

Nasri Nasyitah Sobihah¹, Aris Ahmad Zaharin², Mohammad Khairul Nizam¹, Looi Ley Juen¹, Kim Kyoung-Woong³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
² Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. Electronic address: zaharin@upm.edu.my.
³ School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 500-712, Republic of Korea.

PMID: 29360594
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.12.187

Abstract

Mariculture fish contains a rich source of protein, but some species may bioaccumulate high levels of heavy metals, making them unsafe for consumption. This study aims to identify heavy metal concentration in Lates calcarifer (Barramudi), Lutjanus campechanus (Red snapper) and Lutjanus griseus (Grey snapper). Three species of mariculture fish, namely, L. calcarifer, L. campechanus and L. griseus were collected for analyses of heavy metals. The concentration of heavy metal (As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Fe, Pb, Mn, Ni, Se, and Zn) was determined using inductive coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The distribution of heavy metals mean concentration in muscle is Zn > Fe > As > Se > Cr > Cu > Mn > Pb > Ni > Cd for L. calcarifer, Fe > Zn > Cr > As > Ni > Mn > Se > Cu > Pb > Cd for L. campechanus and Fe > Zn > Cr > Ni > Se > Cu > As > Mn > Pb > Cd for L. griseus. Among all of the species under investigation, the highest concentration of Fe was found in the muscle tissue of L. campechanus (19.985 ± 1.773 mg kg^-1) and liver tissue of L. griseus (58.248 ± 8.736 mg kg^-1). Meanwhile, L. calcarifer has the lowest concentration of Cd in both muscle (0.007 ± 0.004 mg kg^-1) and liver tissue (0.027 ± 0.016 mg kg^-1). The heavy metal concentration in muscle tissue is below the permissible limit guidelines stipulated by the Food & Agriculture Organization, 1983 and Malaysia Food Act, 1983. The concentration of heavy metals varies significantly among fish species and tissues. L. campechanus was found to have a higher ability to accumulate heavy metals as compared to the other two species (p < .00). Among all the studied fish, liver tissue has a higher concentration of heavy metals compared to muscle tissue (p < .05). The findings from this study can serve as baseline information for future monitoring and risk assessment studies. Periodic monitoring of heavy metal concentration in mariculture fish must be performed to prevent acute and chronic food intoxication.

Keywords: Bioaccumulation; Fish; Food safety; Heavy metals; Mariculture.

MeSH terms

Animals
Environmental Monitoring / methods
Fishes / metabolism*
Food Contamination / analysis
Malaysia
Mass Spectrometry
Metals, Heavy / analysis*
Muscles / metabolism
Perches / metabolism*
Perciformes / metabolism*
Risk Assessment
Seafood / analysis*
Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis*

Substances

Metals, Heavy
Water Pollutants, Chemical