Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

ASSESSMENT OF HEAVY METALS DISTRIBUTION IN SOME FRESHWATER FISH ORGANS USING INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA OPTICAL EMISSION SPECTROMETRY (ICP-OES)

Hala. E. Ghannam, A. S. Talab, S. E. Gaber and H. S. Jahin

Abstract

The aim of this study was to quantify heavy metals (Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Sn, V and Zn) concentrations in various organs (muscles, liver, kidney, gills, and gonads) of five economically fish species: Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), Blue Tilapia (Oreochromis aureus), Mango Tilapia (Sarotherodon galilaeus), Bayad Catfish (Bagrus bajad) and mullet (Mugil cephalus), collected during winter 2013 from El- Bahr El-Pharaony drain, El-Menoufia Governorate, Egypt using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). The results showed that, heavy metals concentrations in the organs of five fish species varied for Al: 2.621-25.745; As: 0.213-0.950; Ba: 0.134-0.932; Cd: 0.110-0.923; Co: 0.036- 0.909; Cr: 0.056-1.365; Cu: 0.195-5.442; Fe: 11.496-60.201; Mn: 1.048-6.275; Ni: 0.226-8.403; Pb: 1.357-5.719; Se: 0.45-2.16; Sn: 0.05-1.99; V: 0.22-1.33 and Zn: 8.184-42.315 ppm, while Sb was not detected in any fish organs. On the other hand, the heavy metal concentrations in various organs of different five fish species showed significant differences of their accumulation levels. The lowest levels of all the metals in the present study were observed in fish muscles (flesh) of the five fish species, while liver, kidney, gills and gonads shows the highest value. The heavy metals concentrations did not exceed the maximum permissible limits set for heavy metals by WHO (1993) in all fish muscles (flesh), therefore, all investigated fish species in this drain are safe for human consumption.