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Assessment of heavy metals from pangasius and tilapia aquaculture in Bangladesh and human consumption risk

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Abstract 

Heavy metal levels in pangasius, tilapia, water, and sediments were studied in four commercial aquaculture regions of Bangladesh, and the related human consumption risk was estimated. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) was used to assess the concentration of heavy metals. Bioconcentration factor (BCF) and biota-sediment accumulation factor (BSAF) were used to assess biota’s metal accumulation ability, while the metal pollution index (MPI) was calculated to compare a total of five metals (arsenic, lead, cadmium, chromium, and cupper) pollution rates. Cr and Cu were detected in pangasius from all sampling regions. Heavy metal levels in tissues revealed a tissue-specific bioaccumulation pattern. Except for Cu, the highest metal load was found in the kidneys, with significant differences to other tissues in tilapia. The muscle accumulated the low concentrations of all metals both in pangasius and tilapia. The mean MPI of the tissues in order from the highest to lowest values: kidney (2.52) > liver (1.30) > muscle (0.14) for pangasius and kidney (3.75) > liver (1.03) > muscle (0.35) for tilapia. In addition to Cd, BCF’s calculation for other heavy metals was higher than that of BSAF, indicating that the bioaccumulation of Cd in tilapia was from the sediments, as well as the bioaccumulation of other heavy metals were from water. Correlation analysis showed that Fulton’s condition factor (K) of both pangasius and tilapia had a negative relationship with MPI for liver and kidney. The pangasius and tilapia cultured in the four aquaculture regions of Bangladesh were found to be low risk for human consumption at a rate of 60 g per day.

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

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Acknowledgements

The authors express sincere appreciation to (i) DANIDA for providing fund; (ii) Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; (iv) Department of Aquaculture, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Bangladesh; (v) Department of Aquaculture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Bangladesh; and (vi) Dr. M.A. Wazed Miah Central Laboratory, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Bangladesh, for adequate field and laboratory facilities to complete this research successfully. The authors express special thanks to all the farmers of the selected farms for their cordial cooperation during the study period.

Funding

This study was supported by a DANIDA research grant to the project “Upgrading pangas and tilapia value-chain in Bangladesh,” funding number F387-A26778.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg, Denmark

    Md. Emranul Ahsan & Seikh Razibul Islam

  2. Department of Fisheries Management, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Salna, Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh

    Md. Emranul Ahsan

  3. Department of Aquaculture, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Dumki, Patuakhali-8602, Bangladesh

    Seikh Razibul Islam, Muhammad Abdur Razzak & Md. Lokman Ali

  4. Department of Aquaculture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, 2202, Bangladesh

    Mohammad Mahfujul Haque

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  1. Md. Emranul Ahsan
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Contributions

MEA, SRI, MMH, MAR, and MLK were responsible for planning and design of the experimental work; MEA with assistance from SRI conducted fieldwork and laboratory analysis in Bangladesh; all authors contributed to interpretation of data; MEA drafted the MS with input from MMH, MAR, and MLA.

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Correspondence to Md. Emranul Ahsan.

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Ahsan, M.E., Islam, S.R., Razzak, M.A. et al. Assessment of heavy metals from pangasius and tilapia aquaculture in Bangladesh and human consumption risk. Aquacult Int 30, 1407–1434 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-022-00903-w

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