JIPK.
Volume 13 No 1.
April 2021 Sinta 2 (Decree No: 10/E/KPT/2.
e-ISSN:2528-0759.
p-ISSN:2085-5842 DOI=10.
20473/jipk.
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id/JIPK/index JIPK
(JURNAL ILMIAH PERIKANAN DAN KELAUTAN)
Short Communication Bioaccumulation of some heavy metals in Red mullet (Mullus barbatu.
, and common Pandora (Pagellus erythrinu.
from Zliten coast.
Libya Ragab Farag Al-Kazaghly1* .
Mohamed Hamid1, and Keri Alhadi Ighwela2 Department of Zoology.
Faculty of Science.
Al - Asmarya University.
Zliten.
Libya Department of Biology.
Faculty of Education.
Al - Asmarya University.
Zliten.
Libya
Abstract
ARTICLE INFO
Received: September 25, 2020 Accepted: January 05, 2021 Published: April 03, 2021 *) Corresponding author:
E-mail:keri_gwallah@yahoo.
Keywords:
Heavy Metals Mullus barbatus Pagellus erythrinus Zliten Coast This study aimed to determine the heavy metals concentration such as copper (C.
, zinc (Z.
, lead (P.
, cadmium (C.
, and mercury (H.
in the liver, gills, gonad, and muscles of red mullet (Mullus barbatu.
and Common pandora (Pagellus erythrinu.
collected in Zliten Coast.
Libya.
The levels of heavy metals were determined by using an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS).
The results showed that the concentration of heavy metals in the sampled fishes was less than the permissible limits for human consumption.
In addition, the bioaccumulation for Cu.
Pb.
Cd, and Hg by both fish species went higher from liver to gills, gonads, muscles respectively, while Zn follows the sequence from gonads, liver, gills, muscles respectively.
Therefore, the conclusion of this study was concentrations of heavy metals in the muscle tissue were within the acceptable limits for human health according to FAO and WHO.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license .
ttp://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.
Cite this as: Al-Kazaghly.
Hamid.
, & Ighwela.
Bioaccumulation of some Heavy Metals in Red mullet (Mullus barbatu.
and Common pandora (Pagellus erythrinu.
in Zliten Coast.
Libya.
Jurnal Ilmiah Perikanan dan Kelautan, 13.
:81Ae86.
http://doi.
org/10.
20473/jipk.
Copyright A2021 Universitas Airlangga Al-Kazaghly.
/ JIPK, 13 .
: 81-86
Introduction Seafood has essential amino acids, fatty acids, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals.
Among kinds of seafood, fishes are widely consumed by people because they have high protein content, low saturated fat, and also omega fatty acids which function to support good health (Ikem and Egiebor, 2.
Fish production in Libya is growing up, and fish consumption by Libyan people is increasing due to its nutritional value and cheapest price.
Moreover, the Mediterranean Sea is the main source of production.
The Mediterranean Sea is a semi-enclosed sea which covers 2.
5 million km2.
Human activities such as oil exploration, exploitation, and transportation in the region surrounding the Mediterranean Sea produce a strong environmental impact.
In addition, it is also adversely affected by discharges of domestic sewage, industrial, and agricultural wastes.
All of these have produced a high concentration polluted environmental of Sea which often reach the maximum global levels (Meadows, 1.
and is compounded by the very slow exchange in Mediterranean water (El-Moselhy and Hamed, 2.
The effective pollutants of heavy metals are considered as the most important pollutants of the aquatic environment because of their toxicity, long persistence, bioaccumulation, and non-biodegradable properties in the food chain (Zyadah and Chouikhi.
Uysal et al.
, 2.
Heavy metals such as copper and zinc are essential metals which play an important role in a biological system, whereas mercury, lead, and cadmium are non-essential metals as they are toxic and very harmful elements even at low concentration when having ingested over a long time period.
The essential metals can also produce toxic effects when the metal intake is excessively elevated (Turkmen et al.
, 2008.
Tuzen, 2.
Heavy metals may go into fish bodies through the body surface, the gills, or the digestive tract.
The gills are regarded as the important site for direct uptake from the water, whereas the body surface is generally assumed to play a minor role in heavy metal uptake in fish.
Food may also be an important source for heavy metal accumulation (Obasohan, 2007.
Turkmen et al.
, 2008.
Retief et al.
Fish is the final chain of the aquatic food web and an important food source for human.
Therefore, heavy metals in aquatic environments are transferred through the food chain into human.
Puel et al.
reported that heavy metals had the tendency to accumulate in various organs of marine organisms, especially fish, which in turn may enter into the human metabolism through consumption, causing serious health hazards.
For this reason, the determination of heavy metals levels of fish is very important for human health.
In Libya, there are most commercial on two fish species consumed which are Red mullet (Mullus Barbatu.
and Common pandora (Pagellus Erythrinu.
The levels of heavy metals were determined in the muscles of Red mullet (Mullus barbatu.
from the eastern Aegean Sea (Turke.
by Kucuksezgin et al.
and Turkmen et al.
and in the muscles of Pandora (Pagellus erythrinu.
from Izmir Bay (Turke.
by Kucuksezgin et al.
Whereas, there is limited information on the heavy metal content of fish from the Libyan water.
Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine some metal levels (Cu.
Zn.
Pb.
Cd, and H.
in muscles, livers, gills and gonads from the more popular fish species such as Common pandora (Pagellus erythrinu.
and Red mullet (Mullus barbatu.
in Zliten region and to assess whether they are acceptable for human consumption.
They also have commercial importance and are considered as one of the most important sources of food in the studied area (Zliten cit.
Materials and Methods 1 Fish Collection Fresh samples of two fish species were used in this study: Common pandora (Pagellus erythrinu.
and Red mullet (Mullus barbatu.
These species are commonly consumed by the local population in Libya.
2 Methods Fish samples were purchased from local fishermen at Zliten harbors (Figure .
in the same day of capture and brought to the laboratory by an icebox immediately and then frozen at 20oC until dissection.
Ten samples from each fish species were obtained.
After defrosting, total fish length and weight of the samples were measured in millimeter and gram.
Furthermore, they were dissected by using stainless steel dissection instruments whilst wearing surgical gloves.
The procedure used for measuring concentrations of heavy metals in tissues has been described previously by Bahnasawy et al.
In order to minimize contamination, all glassware used in the experiment were previously soaked in a soap solution, rinsed in distilled water, acid-washed in dilute HCL, and rinsed in distilled water once again.
In addition to this, the chemical used for sample dissolution was all of the analytical grade.
Parts .
bout 1 .
of muscles .
piaxial muscle which was removed from below the dorsal fin of each fis.
, liver, gills, and gonad were put into small Erlenmeyer flasks and dried in an oven at 105AC Jurnal Ilmiah Perikanan dan Kelautan JIPK.
Volume 13 No 1.
April 2021 / Bioaccumulation of some heavy metals in Red mullet (Mullus barbatu.
, and common.
for about 24 hours.
In order to determine the percentage of moisture for each sample, the wet and dry masses of the samples were recorded.
Figure 1.
Map showing the sampling site (Zliten coas.
The samples were digested by adding concentrated nitric acid .
%) and per chloric acid .
%) in a 2:1 ratio to the dried samples.
Digestion was performed on a hotplate at 200 to 250AC until the solution became clear.
The completely digested samples were allowed to cool in room temperature, filtered through an acid-resistant 45 m filter paper, diluted to 25 ml in volumetric flasks with distilled water, and stored in pre-washed glass bottles until the concentration of the metals could be determined.
Concentrations of five heavy metals (Cu.
Zn.
Pb.
Cd, and H.
were measured by using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (NOV AA .
Metal concentration in tissue was presented as g metal/g wet weight .
/g w.
or pp.
3 Statistical Analysis Statistical analysis of the obtained data was carried out by using SPSS statistical.
One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to identify whether heavy metal concentrations varied significantly.
A P value of less than 0.
05 was considered to indicate statistical Results and Discussion The amount of bioaccumulation of heavy metals in tissues may vary depending on the length and weight of samples (Yilmaz, 2.
The average length and weight values of the examined two fish species (P.
and M.
(Table .
Average and standard deviations of concentrations from Cu.
Zn.
Pb.
Cd, and Hg in the liver, gills, gonads, and muscles of the fishes examined Pagellus erythrinus and Mullus barbatus (Table .
The contents of investigated heavy metals in fish species were found in the range of 0.
89 ppm for copper, 4.
ppm for zinc, 0.
64 ppm for lead, 0.
ppm for cadmium, and 0.
432 ppm for mercury.
The general order of bioaccumulation for Cu.
Pb.
Cd, and Hg by both fish species was liver, gills, gonads, and muscles went higher respectively, whereas Zn followed the sequence of gonads, liver, gills, and muscles went higher respectively.
Cu concentrations varied significantly (P<0.
in both the investigated fishes and the organs of fishes (Table .
barbatus contained the higher level of Cu .
162 pp.
than P.
92A0.
63 pp.
The maximum contain of Cu was observed in the liver of M.
barbatus, while the minimum level was recorded in the muscles of P.
The maximum Cu level permitted for fish is 20 g/g for WHO .
Copper level in the analyzed fish samples were found to be lower than legal limits.
Zn concentrations varied significantly in both fishes and the organs of these fishes (Table .
barbatus accumulated the highest concentration of Zn .
950 pp.
The gonads were the major sites of Zn accumulation in both fish species containing the highest level of this metal, while muscles had the lowest concentration of it.
The maximum zinc level permitted for fish is100 g/g according to WHO .
Zinc levels in the analyzed fish samples were found to be lower than the legal limits.
Pb concentrations varied significantly in both fishes and the organs of these fishes (Table .
The highest Pb accumulation .
43 pp.
was recorded in M.
The liver had the maximum concentration of Pb .
64 pp.
, while muscles contained the minimum concentration .
12 pp.
in P.
The maximum lead level permitted for fishes is 2.
0 g/g according to WHO .
Lead levels in the analyzed fish samples were found to be lower than the legal recommended Cd concentration varied significantly in both the fishes and the organs of these fishes (Table .
barbatus accumulated the highest level of Cd .
The liver had the highest concentration of C.
while muscle contained the lowest level of it.
The maximum cadmium level permitted for fish samples is 5 g/g according to WHO .
Cadmium levels in the analyzed fish samples were found to be lower than legal limits.
Copyright A2021 Universitas Airlangga April 2021 Al-Kazaghly.
/ JIPK, 13 .
: 81-86
Table 1.
Mean weights and lengths of the species examined in the study (Mean ASD).
Pagellus erythrinus Parameter Mullus barbatus Range Mean ASD Range Mean ASD Total length .
48A3.
36A1.
Total weight .
47A48.
16A8.
Table 2.
The mean metals concentrations .
A standard division in liver, gills, gonad and muscles of investigated fishes.
Fishes Liver 56 A 0.
Mean ASD of Copper Gills Gonad 07A0.
85A0.
Total 92A0.
89 A 0.
29A 0.
16A0.
Liver 92 A2.
Mean ASD of Zinc Gills Gonad 34A2.
18A9.
Total 59A10.
27 A4.
13A4.
95A13.
Liver 53 A 0.
Mean ASD of Lead Gills Gonad 47A0.
22A0.
Total 34A0.
64 A 0.
50A 0.
37A 0.
43A0.
Liver 14 A 0.
Mean ASD of Cadmium Gills Gonad 13A0.
09A 0.
Total 10A0.
44 A 0.
22A 0.
19A 0.
23A0.
Liver 26 A 0.
Mean ASD of Mercury Gills Gonad 22A0.
14A0.
Total 17A0.
31 A 0.
43A0.
19A 0.
49A9.
28A0.
27A0.
Table 3.
Heavy metals concentrations in the organs of Pagellus erythrinus Organs Liver Mean ASD Gills Mean ASD Gonad Mean ASD Muscles Mean ASD Total Mean SD 56 A 0.
07A0.
85A0.
18A0.
92A0.
92 A2.
34A2.
18A9.
91A0.
59A10.
53 A 0.
47A0.
22A0.
12A 0.
34A0.
14 A 0.
13A0.
09A 0.
04A0.
10A0.
26 A 0.
22A0.
14A0.
06A0.
17A0.
Element Jurnal Ilmiah Perikanan dan Kelautan JIPK.
Volume 13 No 1.
April 2021 / Bioaccumulation of some heavy metals in Red mullet (Mullus barbatu.
, and common.
Table 4.
Heavy metals concentrations in the organs of Mullus barbatus Organs Element Liver Gills Gonad Muscles Total Mean ASD Mean ASD Mean ASD Mean ASD Mean SD 89 A 0.
29A 0.
19A 0.
27A 0.
16A0.
27 A4.
13A4.
49A9.
90A1.
95A13.
64 A 0.
50A 0.
37A 0.
19A0.
43A0.
44 A 0.
22A 0.
19A 0.
06A0.
23A0.
31 A 0.
43A0.
28A0.
07A0.
27A0.
Table 5.
Maximum permissible limits of heavy metals in fish according to international standards Heavy Metals WHO .
FAO .
20 g /g 95A13.
100 g /g 34A0.
43A0.
0 g /g 10A0.
23A0.
5 g /g 17A0.
27A0.
5 g /g Pagellus erythrinus 92A0.
Mullus barbatus 16A0.
59A10.
Hg concentration varied significantly in both the investigated fishes and the organs of these fishes (Table .
barbatus accumulated the highest level of Hg .
27 pp.
The gills had the highest concentration of Hg while muscle contained the lowest level of both The maximum mercury level permitted for fish 5 g/g according to WHO .
and FAO .
Mercury and cadmium levels in the analyzed fish samples were found to be lower than legal limits.
Heavy metals concentrations in the organs of erythrinus and M.
barbatus were also varied (Table 3 & .
The distribution of metals in the fish organs took the following descending order Zn.
Cu.
Pb.
Hg.
Cd respectively.
The total concentration values of Cu.
Pb.
Cd, and Hg in the fish organs were detected in the following order which went higher respectively liver, gills, gonads, and muscles.
The sequence of Zn concentration in the organs follow the order which went higher respectively gonads, gills, liver, and muscles.
The gonad has been reported as a structure likely to present Zn high concentration due to their participation in excretion of toxic metals, fertilization, cellular division, and growth processes (Mormede and Davies.
Uluturhan and Kucuksezgin, 2.
In this study, the average concentrations of both essential and non-essential metals in the liver, gills, gonads, and muscles of each fish species showed significant variations.
Statistical analysis revealed that metal concentrations were significantly different in each tissue from different fish species.
The differences in the levels of accumulation in the different organs i.
, tissues of a fish could primarily be attributed to the differences in the physiological role of each organ.
Regulatory ability, behavior, and feeding habits were other factors which could influence the accumulation differences in the different organs (Kotze et al.
, 1.
It was also reported that the differences in metal concentrations of the tissues might be a result of their capacity to induce metal-binding proteins such as metallothionein (Canli and Atli, 2003.
Uysal et al.
, 2.
Conclusion In terms of food safety and based on the samples collected, the muscle tissue of all fish species might be considered suitable for human consumption, as the metal concentration levels observed were in the range of acceptable limits proposed by regulations of WHO and FAO especially the study of heavy metals.
Acknowledgement Copyright A2021 Universitas Airlangga April 2021 Al-Kazaghly.
/ JIPK, 13 .
: 81-86
The authors would like to thanks the laboratory staff of Hasan School especially Mr.
Mohamed Abdullah Belqasm for their assistance in the laboratory AuthorAos Contributions All authors discussed the results and contributed to from the start to final manuscript.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no competing References