Toxicities and risk assessment of heavy metals of the six most consumed fish from the Marmara Sea

Bream, anchovy, horse mackerel, sea bass, sardine, and whiting that are commonly consumed by the Turkish community were collected from the Marmara Sea in September and March and were analyzed for trace elements and for fat content. The total concentrations of some metals in these fish were determined using ICP-MS in acid extracts obtained after microwave digestion. The seasonal fat contents of the fish samples were determined gravimetrically following a Soxhlet extraction method. Experimental results were evaluated statistically using t tests and principal component analyses. This enabled the comparison of the elements' contents in the fish samples in March and September and also led to an investigation into whether or not there is a relationship between the elements' contents and the fat amount. The results of this work showed that a significant temporal difference was observed. This difference was not related to the seasonal variation in fat concentrations.