International Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances 1(1): 10-14, 2009
ISSN: 2041-2908
© M axwell Scientific Organization, 2009
Heavy Metals Concentration in Four Commercially Valuable Marine Edible Fish
Species from Parangipettai Coast, South East Coast of India
1
P. Raja, 2 S. Veerasingam, 2 G. Suresh, 1 G. Marichamy and 1 R. Venkatachalapathy
1
CA S in M arine Biology , Annam alai University, Parangipettai- 608 502, Ind ia
2
Departm ent of Physics, Annam alai University, A nnamalai nag ar-60 8 002. Ind ia
Abstract: Concentrations of Chromium (Cr), Cadm ium (Cd ), Coppe r(Cu), Iron (Fe), M agnesium (Mg ),
Man ganese (Mn), Nickel (N i), Cob alt (Co), Zinc (Zn) and A luminium (Al) were determined in four edible part
of the marine fish species (Nem atolosa nasus, Aleper para, Atropus atropus and Parastromateus niger) from
Parangipettai Coast, south east coast of India in September 2008 to understand the toxicity of such heavy
metals. Heav y metal con centrations w ere measured using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission
Spectrometer (ICP-O ES). Concentrations of the heavy metals in examined fish species ranged as follows: Cr
0.65 – 0.92; Cd 0.18 – 0.54; Cu 0.12 – 0.31; Fe 24.1 – 50.3; Mg 0.54 – 1.21; Mn 0.31 – 1.20; Ni 0.38 – 1.54;
Co 0.05 – 0.28; Zn 14.1 – 33.5 and Al 14.1 – 33.5 :g/g. Cd conc entration increases g radually as weight and
length of the fish increases. Hea vy m etals in the edible parts of the investigated fish were in the perm issible
safety levels for human uses.
Key w ords: Heavy metals, Marine edible fish es, Parangipettai coast India
INTRODUCTION
The seas and oceans, which co ver 70% of the world’s
surface, are one of the man’s great hopes for future food
supplies. As h uma n po pulations multiply and
industrialization increases, the problems of environmental
pollution become more critical (Jerome and Williams,
1979). Heavy metals enter the aquatic environment
natura lly through w eathering of the earths crust. In
addition to geological weathering, human activities have
also introduced large quantities of metals to local water
bodies, thereby disturbing the natural balance in the
ecosystem ( Forstner and W ittmann, 1983).
Sea foods have essential amino acids, fatty acids,
protein, carbohydrates, vitam ins and min erals. A mong sea
foods, fish are commonly consumed and, hence, are a
connecting link for the transfer of toxic heavy m etals in
human being s. Puel et al, (1987) reported that, heavy
metals have the tendency to accumulate in various organs
of marine organisms, especially fish, which in turn may
enter into the h uma n me tabolism through consumption
causing serious health hazards.
Fishes are major part of the huma n diet and it is
therefore not surprising that numerous studies have been
carried out on metal pollution in different species of
edible fish (Karadede and Unlu, 2000; Prudente et al.,
1997; Unlu et al., 1996 and E rdogrul and Ates, 2006).
Predominantly, fish toxicological and environmental
studies have prompted interest in the determination of
toxic elemen ts in seafood (W aqar, 2006 ).
Industrial effluents, agricu ltural runoffs, transport,
burning of fossil fuels, animal and human excretions and
geologic weathering and dom estic w aste co ntribute to the
heavy metals in the water bodies (Adnano, 1986). Heavy
metals are critical in this regard because of their easy
uptake into the food chain and bioaccumulation processes
(Beijer and Jerne lov, 1986).
The present study was undertaken to study the
concentration levels o f selected trace metals in
com merc ially important fish species and correlate the
concentration of metals with respe ct to their weight and
length.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Study Area: The present study area, Parang ipettai (Po rto
Novo) is located in south east coast of India (Fig.1). It is
situated on the north bank of the mouth of the Vellar river
at a distance of 50 km from Puducherry. D ue to its
geographical position on the Coromandel Co ast,
Parangipettai has long been a major trading centre.
Parangipettai landing centre is one of the famous fish
trade centre in cudd alore district.
Sampling: There are fifteen fish samples from each kind
of fish species w ere collected from Parangipettai landing
centre (Lat: 11.50º N; Lon: 79.77º E). Samples selected
for analysis were Nem atolosa nasus, Aleper para, Atropus
atropus and Parastrom ateus niger . These are
com merc ially important and nutrient fish species. The
samples were collected in sterile polythene bags and kept
in the laboratory deep freezer (-20ºC) to prevent
deterioration till further analysis.
Sam ple Preparation: Fish sa mples we re cleaned with
sterile distilled water and then dissected. In the laboratory
Corresponding Author: G .Suresh, Department of Physics, Annamalai University, Annamalainagar-608 002. India
10
Int. J. Anim. Veter. Adv., 1(1): 10-14, 2009
Fig.1. Location of Study Area
they were thawed, identified and the total length and
weight were noted. Tissue was taken and d ried at 70º C
until a constant weight was obtained. The fish edible
muscle was analyzed after Analytical Methods Committee
(1960), by using mixture of 5 ml (65%) HNO 3 and 0.5 ml
HC lO 4 (70%). After cooling, each sample was redissolved
in 5% HNO 3 (v/v) and filtered through whatmann No. 40
filter paper and was diluted to 25ml with 5% HNO 3 prior
to analysis by u sing Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical
Emission Spectrometer (Perkin Elmer Optima 2100DV)
in Centre of Advanced study in Marine Biology,
Parangipe ttai. Blan k solution was prepared for the
background correction.
RESUL TS
The length and weight of collected fish species have
shown in table 1 . From the table, the highest and lowest
lengths and weights were observed in Parastromateus
niger and Aleper para respectively. The significant
Table 1. Length and Weight of collected Fin fishes
Species
Length (cm)
---------------------------------------------------------Mean
Min
Max
Nematolosa nasus
19 .3
22
15
Aleper para
43 .1
56
30
Atropus atropus
22 .7
25
20
Parastromateus niger
53 .5
75
30
11
Weight (g)
----------------------------------------------------------Mean
M in
Max
13 7.8
126
142
35 0.2
300
400
18 0.9
160
200
72 6.8
600
800
Int. J. Anim. Veter. Adv., 1(1): 10-14, 2009
Tab le 2. C onc entra tion o f hea vy m etals in fish c ollec ted fro m P aran gipe ttai coa st.
Metals and Species
N
Heavy metal concentrations (:g/g)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mean
Minimum
Maximum
Aluminum
Nematolosa nasus
15
3.05
2.60
3.50
Aleper para
15
1.98
1.50
2.40
Atropus atropus
15
3.20
2.60
3.80
Parastromateus niger
15
4.00
3.60
4.50
Iron
Nematolosa nasus
15
45.20
39.60
71.50
Aleper para
15
24.11
03.50
46.80
Atropus atropus
15
50.30
42.60
78.50
Parastromateus niger
15
28.40
16.70
50.40
Magnesium
Nematolosa nasus
15
1.21
0.60
1.50
Aleper para
15
0.92
0.30
1.20
Atropus atropus
15
1.11
0.70
1.40
Parastromateus niger
15
0.54
0.20
0.80
M anga nese
Nematolosa nasus
15
1.20
0.80
1.50
Aleper para
15
0.31
0.16
0.68
Atropus atropus
15
0.89
0.31
1.12
Parastromateus niger
15
1.05
0.62
1.37
Copper
Nematolosa nasus
15
0.16
0.10
0.21
Aleper para
15
0.12
0.07
0.15
Atropus atropus
15
0.24
0.14
0.37
Parastromateus niger
15
0.31
0.25
0.43
Chromium
Nematolosa nasus
15
0.92
0.61
1.52
Aleper para
15
0.65
0.36
1.05
Atropus atropus
15
0.84
0.31
1.24
Parastromateus niger
15
0.68
0.41
1.12
Cadmium
Nematolosa nasus
15
0.18
0.15
0.22
Aleper para
15
0.19
0.18
0.24
Atropus atropus
15
0.18
0.12
0.21
Parastromateus niger
15
0.54
0.47
0.66
Nickel
Nematolosa nasus
15
1.05
0.72
1.83
Aleper para
15
0.38
0.14
0.63
Atropus atropus
15
1.09
0.80
1.73
Parastromateus niger
15
1.54
1.12
2.40
Co ba lt
Nematolosa nasus
15
0.28
0.25
0.41
Aleper para
15
0.05
0.02
0.08
Atropus atropus
15
0.18
0.12
0.21
Parastromateus niger
15
0.07
0.04
0.10
Zink
Nematolosa nasus
15
29 .5
17 .6
43 .0
Aleper para
15
33 .5
21 .1
48 .3
Atropus atropus
15
14 .1
7.5
19 .4
Parastromateus niger
15
32 .5
19 .1
51
were observed in Aleper para and Parastromateus niger
respectively.
In order to understand inter relation among the
measured elements, Pearson correlation analysis was
carried out using SPSS for window s 16.0 softw are and is
shown in table 3 as the linear correlation matrix.
Correlation coefficient between the pairs of metals is also
shown in same table.
positive correlation (r = 0.94) was obtained between
length and weight of these species.
The concentration of heavy metals detected in the
samples has given in Table 2. The maximum and
minimum concentration of Fe w as obtained in
Nem atolosa nasus and Aleper para. The maximum
concentration of Cd, Al, Cu and N i were noted in
Parastromateus niger. Nematolosa nasus had highest
concentration of Cr, Mg, Co and Mn. The maximum
concentration of Zn was observed in Aleper para.
The minimum con centrations of A l, Cr, Cu, Mn, Co
and Ni were observed in Aleper para. Minimum
concentration of Cd was noted in Nem atolosa nasus and
Atropus atropus. The lowest concentrations of Zn a nd M g
DISCUSSION
Hazard level of metals: Am ong the different metals
analyzed Cadmium, Chromium and N ickel are classified
as chem ical haz ards and m aximum re sidual levels have
12
Int. J. Anim. Veter. Adv., 1(1): 10-14, 2009
Table 3: Comparison of heavy m etal concentrations (:g/g) in fish with va lues taken from the open literature
Sample area
Fe
Mn
Cu
Cr
Cd
Co
Mediterranean Sea,1996
59.6 -73 .4
3.40-5.88
1.28-1.60
1.07-1.43
Masan B ay, Korea
0.18-0.25
0.02-0.05
0.01
Ni
4.25-6.07
0.02
Zn
16.1 -31 .4
6.33 -12 .9
California Lagoons
0.1- 0.3
1.6- 1.7
1.9- 7.5
Middle Black Sea
Black Sea Coast
Kerguelen Islands
9.52 -32 .4
30-60
Mediterranean Sea,
2000
Iskenderun Bay, 2001
Paran gipettai C oast,
India, 2008
19.6 0-7 8.4
29.1 0-9 3.6
24.1-50.3
1.06 -.76
0.69 -0.56
0.31-1.20
1.28-2.93
1.01-4.54
1.9-24
0.09-0.48
<0.02-0.24
<0.06-0.84
0.5 - 2.5
2.19 -4.4
1.24-2.42
0.37-0.79
0.66-1.98
0.12-0.31
1.03-1.79
0.65-0.92
0.18 - 0.54
<0.05-0.40 <0.01-2.04
0.01 -0.1
9.5- 22.9
25.7 -44 .2
16.5-37.4
0.05-0.28
0.32-1.72
0.38-1.54
8.99-2.18
14.1 -33 .5
References
Kalay et al. (1999)
Kw on and Lee
(2001)
0 . 6 1 - 1 2 3 6 - 1 50 T a m i ra
et al. (2001)
T u(zen (2002)
Topcuoglu et al. (2002)
9 . 2 - 3 3 . 2 Bu s tam a n te
et al. (2003)
Canl2 and A tl2
(2003)
Y 2lmaz (2003)
Present study
Table 4: Permissible limits (:g/g) for heavy metals recommended by various organizations
Element
EC, 2001
FDA , 2001
Cadmium
0.05 - 0.1(fish)
3 (Crustacean)
0.5 (crustaceans)
4(Clam oysters and mussels)
1.0 (Bivalves and cephalopods)
Chromium
12 (Crustacean)
13(Clam oysters and mussels)
Nickel
70 (Crustacean)
80(Clam oysters and mussels)
Copper
Zinc
Table 5 : Correlation coefficient matrix.
Al
Fe
Al
1
Fe
0.24
1
Mg
-0.45
0.73
Mn
0.80
0.58
Cu
0.93
0.09
Cr
0.17
0.91
Cd
0.74
-0.47
Ni
1.00
0.27
Co
0.13
0.85
Zn
-0.16
-0.82
FAO , 1983
0.5
30
40
Mg
Mn
Cu
Cr
Cd
Ni
Co
Zn
1
0.09
-0.62
0.79
-0.92
-0.41
0.79
-0.48
1
0.53
0.68
0.30
0.83
0.68
-0.20
1
-0.11
0.80
0.91
-0.17
-0.24
1
-0.50
0.21
0.99
-0.52
1
0.71
-0.49
0.39
1
0.19
-0.16
1
-0.40
1
been prescribed for human (FAO, 1983; EC, 2001; FDA,
2001). In this study, Cd conten ts (0.5:g/g) in the samples
were much less than the permitted level (0.05 – 0.1)
(FAO, 1983). Cr and Ni concen trations are also much less
than the permitted level (Table 4). In the present study all
the metal concentrations are below the European
Commission report limit wh ile as far FDA (US Food and
Drug Administration) limit is concerned none of the
samples co ntained abo ve the prescribed lim its.
and FDA limit. The concentrations of heavy m etals in
muscle in the fou r species studied w ere considerably
lower than the maximum levels set by law and, therefore,
the muscle of the mo st of the samp les ana lyzed were fit
for huma n consu mption in this region . Even though, there
are no high levels of heavy metals in fish, a possible
hazardous may occur in the future depending on the
agricultural and fishing development in this area.
ACKNOW LEDGEMENT
Inter – elemental correlation analysis: From the
correlation table (Table 5), the Al is highly correlated w ith
Mn, Cu, Cd and Ni but Fe has sig nificant correlation w ith
Mg, Cr and Co. Magnesium and Manganese are
correlated both Cr and Co. C hromium is positively
correlated with Cd and Ni, but none of the element is
correlated with Zn in the present study.
The length and weight is positively co rrelated with
concentration of Cd. That is Cd concentrations increases
gradually as weight and length increases.
Autho rs are thankful to Prof. T. Balasubramanaian,
Director, Centre of Advanced study in M arine Biology,
Parangipe ttai, for his encouragement and providing all the
facilities in carrying out this work.
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Present study provides new information on the
concentration of heavy metals in fish from Parangipettai
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13
Int. J. Anim. Veter. Adv., 1(1): 10-14, 2009
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14