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“Biochemical and Histological effects of heavy metals on fish from River Jehlum, Pakistan”

. Noman Khalique, Abdul Majid Khan, Asma Ahmed, Rehana Badar, Naeem Akhtar Abbasib & Munib Ahmed Shafiquee


Abstract

Heavy metal contamination and different elements in trace amount are serious concern to global ecosystem, particularly human health, not only due to their toxic and mobile features, but because they also persist in the environment as being non-degradable. The aim of current study is more precisely to find out heavy metal quantity (ppb) by wet digestion, followed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrophotometry (ICP-MS) and their qualitative and quantitative effects on fish edible portion with respect to length and weight of fish, histopathology, biochemical profiling of liver, kidney and muscles of different fish of head Trimmu, river Jhelum, Pakistan. Statistically analyzed results showed that heavy metal content in kidney, liver and muscles of Labeo rohita, Catla catla, Ctenopharyngodon idella, Cirrhinus mirgala, Hypophthalymichthys molitrix, Oreochromis niloticus, Cyprinus carpio, Wallago attu and Sperata sarwari were in broad range (1.09– 4.7 ppb for arsenic, 0.01-0.48 ppb for cadmium, 0.05-0.32 ppb for thallium, 0.04-4.68 ppb for lead and 0.01-0.15 ppb for chromium), with broad range of edible portion (0.6- 1.125 Kg), which depended upon moisture (2.5±0.8b- 80.7±4.40b %), fat (0.63±0.2d- 73.09±2.14d %), protein (1.64±0.83b- 58.35±10.49c %) and ash content (0.59±0.17a- 23.24±1.13b %) in fish muscles due to broad range of weight and length of each fish. Histopathological analysis showed that fish muscles have been affected more by all heavy metals, followed by the liver but maximum effect was due to arsenic. Since the available data for different heavy elements for fish is scanty, here an effort is made to present a precise data for the same. The analysis of by using the ICP-MS method shows the results are more sensitive, accurate, validated and economical and can be easily applied to raw materials and finished goods.

Keywords: Head Trimmu, River Jelum Pakistan, Heavy metals, ICP-MS, Histopathology, Proximate and biochemical analysis

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