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

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Abstract

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 μg/kg in the skin, followed by manganese (Mn) of 241 μg/kg in the muscle, and the lowest of 3.78 μg/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.

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Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the financial and technical support of the Director, National Centre of Excellence (NCE) in Geology, University of Peshawar. We also acknowledge the technical support of Mr. Ayaz ul Haq, PhD research scholar of NCE in Geology, University of Peshawar.

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  1. National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, 25130, Pakistan

    Said Muhammad & Wajid Ali

  2. Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Laboratories Complex, Peshawar, Pakistan

    Inayat ur Rehman

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  1. Said Muhammad
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  2. Wajid Ali
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  3. Inayat ur Rehman
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Said Muhammad designed this study, drafted and edited the manuscript. Wajid Ali performed statistical analysis and edited the manuscript, Inayat ur Rehman performed analyses and edited this manuscript.

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Correspondence to Said Muhammad.

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Muhammad, S., Ali, W. & ur Rehman, I. Potentially Harmful Elements Accumulation and Health Risk Assessment of Edible Fish Tissues Caught from the Phander Valley, Northern Pakistan. Biol Trace Elem Res 200, 4837–4845 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-021-03051-z

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