Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Khulna Agricultural University, Khulna, 9100, Bangladesh. tkanti72@gmail.com
  • 2 Department of Fisheries Biology and Genetics, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali, Bangladesh
  • 3 Department of Soil Science, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali, Bangladesh
  • 4 Department of Environmental Science and Technology, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore, 7408, Bangladesh
  • 5 Agricultural Wing, Bangladesh Jute Research Institute, Dhaka, 1207, Bangladesh
  • 6 Department of Environmental Science & Disaster Management, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University, Gopalganj, Bangladesh
  • 7 Department of Agricultural Chemistry (ACH), Faculty of Agriculture, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science & Technology University, Dinajpur, Bangladesh. bikash@hstu.ac.bd
  • 8 Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Riverine Sub-Station, Khepupara, Patuakhali, 8650, Bangladesh
  • 9 East Coast Environmental Research Institute (ESERI), Gong Badak Campus, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, 21300 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia
  • 10 Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali, Bangladesh
  • 11 Department of Soil Science, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali, Bangladesh. msaifulpstu@yahoo.com
  • 12 Centre for River and Coastal Engineering (CRCE), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Johor Bahru, 81310, Malaysia. zulhilmi@utm.my
  • 13 Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Khalid University, 62529, Abha, Saudi Arabia. dramidris@gmail.com
Biol Trace Elem Res, 2025 Feb 06.
PMID: 39912998 DOI: 10.1007/s12011-025-04540-1

Abstract

The existence of heavy metal pollutants in fish within aquatic ecosystems presents a threat to human health due to trophic shift. This research sought to identify the concentrations of cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and chromium (Cr) in two economically significant cultured fish species, pangus (Pangasius hypophthalmus) and catla (Labeo catla), which were sourced from key fish markets in Khulna, Bangladesh. Nevertheless, there has been a scarcity of studies addressing the metal concentrations in these species within this region. To evaluate the levels of trace elements, atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) was employed following the acid digestion of the samples. The concentrations of Cd, As, Cu, Pb, and Cr were observed as 0.372, 0.232, 0.741, 0.758, and 1.356 mg/kg in pangus and 0.395, 0.297, 1.175, 0.616, and 0.959 mg/kg in catla fish, respectively. The concentrations of Pb and Cd exceeded the maximum permissible limits established by the FAO and WHO. Apart from Cu, the estimated daily intakes (EDI) for both seasons and age groups exceeded the recommended daily allowance (RDA), indicating that other trace elements could be detrimental to human health. In contrast, the calculated hazard index (HI) and total hazard quotient (THQ) remained below 1, suggesting that the fish examined would not pose health risks to adults but the HI value for children surpassed the acceptable limit. Moreover, Cd (for adult group) and Cd and Cr (for children group) surpassed the acceptable range for carcinogenic risk (CR), and the total carcinogenic risk (TCR) exceeded the permissible limit for both groups. This study concluded that studied fishes may represent a health risk for consumers, underscoring the necessity for ongoing monitoring of trace elements in other fish species within that catchment area.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.