S.S. VUTUKURU AND PADMAVATHI VUTUKURU
Abstract
The present study examines the concentration of arsenic, copper, chromium, lead and nickel in brain, gills, muscle and visceral tissues of the widely consumed and commercially important fresh water fish, Channa punctatus purchased from a local market, Hyderabad City, India. The tissue specificity for these metals has been investigated. Consumption of fish contaminated by heavy metals, can lead to deleterious health effects in humans via secondary poisoning. For humans and many animals, heavy metals cause major effects such as central nervous system damage from lead or mercury exposure, especially for developing children while cadmium compounds and hexavalent chromium are known to be human carcinogens. This paper also discusses the toxic effects of arsenic, chromium, copper, nickel and lead concentrations to human health in light of the tolerance limits recommended by WHO Expert Committee for food additives.