Potentially Harmful Elements Accumulation and Health Risk Assessment of Edible Fish Tissues Caught from the Phander Valley, Northern Pakistan

This study investigated the concentrations of potentially harmful elements (PHE) in edible tissues of trout fish (Salmo trutta) in the Phander Valley, Northern Pakistan. For this purpose, fish were sampled from the Phander Valley (Gilgit River and Phander Lake). PHE concentrations in edible fish tissues (muscle, fins, and skin) were determined using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS, AAnalyst 700, Perkin Elmer, USA). Among PHE, zinc (Zn) showed the highest concentration of 1097 mu g/kg in the skin, followed by manganese (Mn) of 241 mu g/kg in the muscle, and the lowest of 3.78 mu g/kg for cadmium (Cd) in fins. The concentration of PHE in fish tissues of the study area was observed within the threshold limits set by the food and agriculture organization (FAO). PHE concentration of fish tissues was used for the calculation of chronic risk assessment using the chronic daily intake (CDI) and hazard quotient (HQ) indices. The highest CDI values were observed for Zn through fish tissue consumption in juveniles, followed by Mn, and the lowest for Cd in adults. The HQ values were observed less than 1 for adults through PHE consumption in fish tissue; however, that of juvenile surpassed the threshold limit through Cd consumption in all studied tissues and that of Pb in the muscle and skins only. Higher HQ values than the threshold limit could pose a potential chronic risk to the exposed community. Spearman's non-parametric correlation showed a varying degree of correlation among PHE in fish tissues and canonical discriminant analyses were used to differentiate the tissues based on PHE accumulation tendencies.

Automated summary

The study found that the concentrations of potentially harmful elements in edible tissues of trout fish in the Phander Valley were within the threshold limits set by FAO. Chronic risk assessment showed that zinc consumption in fish muscle posed the highest risk for juveniles, while cadmium consumption posed the lowest risk for adults. High HQ values for juveniles consuming cadmium in fish tissues exceeded the threshold limit, indicating a potential chronic risk.