Trace metals in muscle, liver and gill tissues of marine fishes from Mersing, Eastern Coast of peninsular Malaysia: concentration and assessment of human health risk.

摘要

Concentrations of the trace metals Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb in muscle, liver and gill tissues of 3 important marine fish, torpedo scad (Megalaspis cordyla), sea catfish (Arius thalassinus) and Belanger's croaker (Johnius belangeri) were studied using ICP-MS. The samples were collected from Mersing the eastern coastal waters of peninsular Malaysia. The estimated ranges of Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb concentrations in the muscles from the 3 fish species were 1.51-3.48, 17.54-28.34, 0.02-0.12 and 0.12-0.15 mug/g dry wt., respectively; corresponding concentrations in the livers were 15.8-26.0, 80.58-365.1, 2.32-6.14 and 0.57-1.54 g/g dry wt., and in the gills were 3.04-5.51, 61.63-259.3, 0.03-0.12 and 0.14-2.03 mug/g dry wt. Metal concentrations in the edible parts of the fish were used to assess human intake of the metals in comparison with provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) and provisional tolerable daily intake (PTDI) data. Generally, levels of metal in muscles were lower than those in livers and gills. Of the metals analysed, zinc was at the highest concentration in all 3 fish species. The estimated weekly and daily intakes for the studied metals were far below the PTWI and PTDI limits. It is concluded that consumption of these fishes from the study area does not pose a risk to human health.