Bioaccumulation Pattern and Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Cirrhinus mrigala at Panjnad Headworks, Bahawalpur, Pakistan

Abstract

Heavy metal accumulation in freshwater ecosystem has become one of the major aquatic environmental concerns for freshwater flora and fauna due to their higher stability and bioaccumulation as well as bio-magnification properties. Furthermore, passing through the food web, these heavy metals affect human populations ultimately. This study assessed the heavy metal accumulation in Cirrhinus mrigala in spring, autumn, and winter at different locations (I, II, and III) of Panjnad headwork. Furthermore, the human health risk assessment for the consumption of C. mrigala from the sampling locations was also carried out. Fish were collected from upper (I), middle (II), and lower (III) stream of Panjnad on a monthly basis. The current study evaluated the accumulation of Aluminum (Al), Arsenic (As), Barium (Ba), and Lead (Pb) in various fish organs (liver, kidney, gills, fins, skin, muscles and bones) and assessed their potential hazard to human health through health risk assessment indicators. The results demonstrated a significant difference (p < 0.05) in heavy metal accumulation in different fish organs, seasons, and locations. The accumulation of Al, As, Ba, and Pb were considerably higher in liver and kidney as compared to the other body organs and followed a trend of liver > kidney > gills > fins > skin > bones > muscle and the overall mean concentrations of metals in different body tissues of C. mrigala were in the order of Al > As > Ba > Pb. The results also concluded that C. mrigala caught from the Panjnad headwork is not safe for human consumption due to higher values of TTHQIng (3.76), THQIng for Ba (3.27) and CRIng for As (6.4742).

Comparative Study of Whole-Body Proximate Composition, Dressing Losses and Bioaccumulation of Heavy Metals in Muscle Tissues of Wild and Farm-Raised Labeo Rohita

“…The result of our findings is incompatible with [27,28] and [29]. The findings revealed that the concentrations of two metals (Cr, Ni) were notably higher in farm-raised rohu in comparison to wild rohu.…”

Hematological and Biochemical Studies in Commercially Important Fish Labeo rohita Exposed to Cadmium Chloride

“…In our research, we observed significant alterations in hematological and biochemical parameters, consistent with previous reports. The potential release of cadmium chloride into aquatic ecosystems raises specific concerns, especially in light of research demonstrating its high toxicity to various freshwater aquatic species (Lee et al, 2007;Asharani et al, 2008;Griffitt et al, 2008;Naz et al, 2023b).…”

“…As these metals swiftly integrate into the aquatic environment, they become a part of the food chain, affecting both aquatic organisms and human populations reliant on them (Chatha et al, 2023). At present, the problem of aquatic pollution has increased many times due to the introduction of modern technologies using heavy metals as raw materials for different functions (Naz et al, 2023b).…”

Evaluation of cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of the upstream Citarum River using Allium cepa assay

“…Heavy metals are elements that cannot be decomposed (persistent) and can accumulate through the food chain (bioaccumulation), with long-term detrimental effects on living things [6]. At low concentrations, heavy metals can disrupt physiological or metabolic processes and cause damage to animal organs [7][8].…”