Heavy metal (As, Cd, Hg, Pb, Cu, Zn, Se) concentrations in muscle and bone of four commercial fish caught in the central Adriatic Sea, Italy.
Heavy metal (As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, Hg and Se) concentrations in the muscle and bone of four fish species (Mullus barbatus, Merluccius merluccius, Micromesistius poutassou, and Scomber scombrus) from the central Adriatic Sea were measured and the relationships between fish size (length and weight) and metal concentrations in the tissues were investigated. Samples were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrophotometry with automatic dual viewing. In the muscle, results of linear regression analysis showed that, except for mercury, significant relationships between metal concentrations and fish size were negative. Only mercury levels were positively correlated with Atlantic mackerel size (p < 0.05). No significant variations of heavy metal concentrations were observed in muscles of the examined species, but a significant difference (p < 0.01) was found for As, Cd, Pb, and Se concentrations in bone. All the investigated metals showed higher values in the muscle than in bone, except for lead and zinc. Regarding cadmium, lead, and mercury maximum levels, set for the edible portion by European legislation, several samples exceeded these values, confirming the heavy metal presence in species caught near the Jabuka Pit.
Facoltà di Bioscienze e Tecnologie Agroalimentari e Ambientali, University of Teramo, Viale Crispi 212, 64100, Teramo, Italy, mperugini@unite.it.
Monia
M
Perugini
Pierina
P
Visciano
Maurizio
M
Manera
Annalisa
A
Zaccaroni
Vincenzo
V
Olivieri
Michele
M
Amorena
D000818:Animals; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000378:metabolism; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005398:Fisheries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005399:Fishes / Q000378:metabolism*; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007558:Italy; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000378:metabolism*; D009132:Muscles / Q000378:metabolism; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism*
D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical