Bioaccumulation Levels and Potential Health Risks of Mercury, Cadmium, and Lead in Albacore (Thunnus alalunga, Bonnaterre, 1788) from The Aegean Sea, Greece

Abstract

Aegean Sea albacore (T. alalunga), fresh or processed, is marketed locally in Greece or exported, mainly to Japan, Italy, Spain, and France. To provide information for consumers and biomonitoring programs and assess the potential human health risks, concentrations of mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) were determined in albacore edible muscle samples from two fishing grounds of the Aegean Sea, Greece via graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GF-AAS). Of the 82 individuals, 28 contained Cd and three contained Pb above the permissible limits set by the European Union (0.1 mg kg−1 wet wt and 0.3 mg kg−1 wet wt, respectively). None of the samples contained mercury above the limit (1.0 mg kg−1 wet wt). Potential health risks to human via dietary intake of albacore were estimated by the total target hazard quotients (TTHQs), which indicated that the consumers could acquire health problems due to consumption of Aegean Sea albacore. Thus consequently, concentrations of toxic heavy metals in albacore, especially mercury, must be monitored regularly and comprehensively with respect to consumer health.

Copper and Zinc Levels in Commercial Marine Fish from Setiu, East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia

“…Many studies have been conducted on the concentrations of PTMs in fish in many regions or countries, such as the Red Sea [19][20][21], India [22][23][24], Pakistan [14,[25][26][27][28], Indonesia [29,30], Persian Gulf or Iran [31][32][33][34][35], Bangladesh [36][37][38], Tanzania [39], Turkey [40], China [41][42][43], Mediterranean Sea [44,45], Aegean Seas of Turkey [46,47], Mexico [48], the Black Sea (Bulgaria), and the Ionian Sea (Italy) [49].…”

Determination of the Level of Selected Elements in Canned Meat and Fish and Risk Assessment for Consumer Health

“…According to the literature data, the values of THQ for heavy metals were as follows: in fish from Bangladesh, Pb from 0.00 to 0.19, As from 0.01 to >1, Cd from 0.01 to >1 [62]; in canned tuna from Mexico, Pb up to 0.00027, Hg up to 0.1889, Cd up to 0.00003 [39]; in canned tuna from Italy, Pb up to 0.0043, Cd up to 0.102, Hg up to 1.441 [63]. Maximum values of THQ per individual albacore (T. alalunga), caught from NASSA and SASSA areas (Greece), for Hg, Cd, and Pb were respectively, 5.040, 0.359, and 0.075 [64].…”

Quality Indicators and Possible Ecological Risks of Heavy Metals in the Sediments of three Semi-closed East Mediterranean Gulfs

“…On the contrary, lead belongs to the non-essential elements and it is usually very toxic even at very low concentrations. Its bioaccumulation in marine benthic or other organism tissues is well documented [8,50,51]. In general, heavy metal contamination produces disturbances in the diversity, abundance, and biomass of marine benthic communities [52,53,54].…”

“…Moreover, heavy metals may be biologically up taken by marine organisms, reaching the bottom sediments after their death [6,7]. Copper, Zn, Cr, and Ni are biologically essential elements since they have significant functions in the growth and health of biological systems [7], but they become toxic at higher concentrations [8]. Lead, as a non-essential metal, acts usually as a potent toxic species, even at very low concentrations.…”

“…Lead, as a non-essential metal, acts usually as a potent toxic species, even at very low concentrations. Its bioaccumulation in tissues [8] leads to intoxication, dysfunction of a variety of organs, cellular and tissue damage, decreased fertility, and cell death [9,10,11,12,13,14,15].…”