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Metal bioaccumulation in two edible cephalopods in the Gulf of Gabes, South-Eastern Tunisia: environmental and human health risk assessment

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Abstract

Samples of Octopus vulgaris and Sepia officinalis were collected from four areas in the Gulf of Gabes, south-eastern Tunisia, and their edible tissues (mantle and arms) were analyzed for cadmium, copper, mercury, and zinc. While the concentrations of metals showed significant differences between the sampling sites, no differences were revealed between the tissues of the two species. The spatial distribution of metals analyzed showed similar pattern for both tissues of the two species, with the highest concentrations found in the central area of Gabes Gulf, and the lowest in the northern and/or southern areas. From a human health risk point of view, the highest values of estimated daily intake, target hazard quotient, and hazard index were found in the central area of Gabes Gulf. Although the results of these indices were, in general, not alarming, the health risks posed by the consumption of cephalopods on local consumers cannot be excluded.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their sincere appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University for funding the research group no. RG-1435-023. We are also grateful to the three referees who helped to improve the quality of the manuscript through their constructive comments and suggestions and to all those who helped in collecting samples and laboratory analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Unit of Integrative Biology and Evolutionary and Functional Ecology of Aquatic Systems, Faculty of Science of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, B.P 94  Cité Rommana, University Campus, 1068, Tunis, Tunisia

    Lotfi Rabaoui, Lamjed Mansour & Sabiha Tlig-Zouari

  2. Marine Studies Section, Center for Environment and Water, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

    Lotfi Rabaoui

  3. Geosciences Environment Toulouse (GET), UMR 5563 CNRS/UPS/IRD/CNES, Université de Toulouse, 14 avenue Edouard Belin, 31400, Toulouse, France

    Radhouan El Zrelli & Pierre Courjault-Radé

  4. Enzymes and Bioconversion Unit, National School of Engineering of Sfax, University of Sfax, Km 4 Road Soukra, 3038, Sfax, Tunisia

    Rafik Balti

  5. Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Lamjed Mansour

  6. CEMES-CNRS and Université de Toulouse, 29 rue J. Marvig, 31055, Toulouse, France

    Nabil Daghbouj

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  1. Lotfi Rabaoui
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  2. Radhouan El Zrelli
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  3. Rafik Balti
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  4. Lamjed Mansour
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  7. Sabiha Tlig-Zouari
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Correspondence to Lotfi Rabaoui.

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Rabaoui, L., El Zrelli, R., Balti, R. et al. Metal bioaccumulation in two edible cephalopods in the Gulf of Gabes, South-Eastern Tunisia: environmental and human health risk assessment. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 1686–1699 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7945-x

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