Comparison of Cadmium Absorption between Scaled and Scaleless Fish Species: Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) and Sutchi (Striped) Catfish (Pangasius hypophthalmus)

Development and releasing the heavy metals in the water, are resistant to degradation and accumulated in fish as a human food chain. In this study, scaled common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and scaleless sutchi (striped) catfish (Pangasius hypophthalmus) exposed to 0.1lethal concentrations of cadmiumto compare bioaccumulation of metalinliver, skin, gills, muscle and scales of both fishes. After preparationand chemical digestionof samples, tissue cadmium contents were analyzed by atomic absorption unit (Model Thermo). In common carp, the highest level of cadmium was found in the liver followed by the skin, gills and scales (538, 98.3, 47.72, and 25.09 μg/g.dw,respectively) and lowest was in the muscle (15.9 μg/g.dw). In the catfish, the highest level of cadmium concentrated in the liver and then in the muscle and gill (195.5, 107, and 52.3 μg/g.dw,respectively) and lowest was in skin (5.93 μg/g.dw). The results of this investigation indicate that the carp's scaled armature, compared to the scaleless skin of the catfish, adsorbs metal toxicants leading to much lesser metals content in the muscle rendering this tissue rather safer for comestible consumption.