A Survey of Metalloids and Heavy Metals Bioaccumulation in the Muscle Tissue of Pike (Esox lucius Linnaeus, 1758) from the Siah Darvishan River (Guilan Province, Iran)

Heavy metals and metalloids are among the most stable and resistant to decomposition elements that, in the presence of high concentrations in aquatic tissues, threaten their own and human health.

The aim of this study was to determine the composition and order of the elements accumulation in the edible muscle tissue of pike from Siah Darvishan River as one of the most valuable and economical fish and also to evaluate its health for human nutrition.

In the present study, concentration of eleven elements (As, Fe, Hg, Zn, Pb, Se, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni) in the muscle tissue of 25 pike (Esox lucius) collected with the Cast net in the summer of 2016 from Siah Darvishan River, Guilan province, Iran were surveyed by Varian Atomic absorption spectroscopy.

The lowest and highest mean accumulation of elements were obtained as follows: Zinc 25.89 - 28.80, Iron 21.85 - 24.26, Copper 6.78 - 8.15, Manganese 1.77 - 2.12, Lead 0.68 - 0.73, Selenium 0.59 - 0.62, Arsenic 0.53 - 0.62, Cadmium 0.38 - 0.41, Nickel 0.24 - 0.28, Chromium 0.17 - 0.19 and Mercury 0.087 - 0.098 microgram per gram dry weight, respectively.

According to the results of this study, mean concentrations of all elements in the muscle tissue of pike, except the four elements Manganese (1.956 ± 0.178), Lead (0.698 ± 0.028), Arsenic (0.572 ± 0.044) and Cadmium (0.393 ± 0.018) were observed to be lower than explained threshold limit value (TLV) of FAO/WHO international standard.