Analytical Methods Determination of metals in fish species from Aegean and Mediterranean seas Mustafa Türkmen a, * , Aysun Türkmen b , Yalçın Tepe a , Yalçın Töre a , Alpaslan Ates ß a a Mustafa Kemal University, Faculty of Fisheries and Aquaculture, 31200 _ Iskenderun, Hatay, Turkey b Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Provincial Directorate of _ Iskenderun, 31200 _ Iskenderun, Hatay, Turkey article info Article history: Received 24 March 2008 Received in revised form 24 June 2008 Accepted 28 June 2008 Keywords: Metals Fish Aegean Mediterranean PTWI PTDI abstract Determination of metal levels in muscles and livers of twelve fish species from Aegean Sea and Mediter- ranean Sea by ICP-AES was made. The levels of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn in muscles of fish were <0.01–0.39, <0.01–0.45, 0.07–1.48, 0.51–7.05, 9.18–136, 0.18–2.78, 0.03–1.72, 0.21–1.28 and 3.51– 53.5 mg kg À1 , respectively. Metal levels in muscles were generally lower than those in livers. Metal con- centrations in the edible parts of fish were assessed for human uses according to provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) and provisional tolerable daily intake (PTDI). The estimated values of all metals in muscles of fish in this study were below the established values. Therefore, it can be concluded that these metals in edible parts of the examined species should pose no health problems for consumers. Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Fish, generally accumulate contaminants from aquatic environ- ments, have been largely used in food safety studies. Heavy metals discharged into the marine environment can damage both marine species diversity and ecosystems, due to their toxicity and accumu- lative behaviour (Matta, Milad, Manger, & Tosteson, 1999). As the spawning and nursery grounds of many marine species, including the commercially valuable shrimps and fish, are located in estua- rine and coastal areas, they are directly affected by such influx of chemical contaminants into the marine ecosystem (Gibson, 1994). Low or high trace element unbalances can be considered as risk factors for several diseases. Metals, such as iron, copper, zinc and manganese, are essential metals since they play important roles in biological systems, whereas mercury, lead and cadmium are toxic, even in trace amounts. The essential metals can also produce toxic effects at high concentrations. Only a few metals with proven hazardous nature are to be completely excluded in food for human consumption. Metal absorption in fish is carried out via two uptake routes: digestive tract (diet exposure) and gill surface (water expo- sure) (Ptashynski, Pedlar, Evans, Baron, & Klaverkamp, 2002). Met- als are further transferred via blood to other target organs, such as the liver and kidney. Therefore, we selected muscles as a primary site of metal uptake and liver as tissues specialised in metal storage and detoxification. Due to the deleterious effects of metals on aquatic ecosystems, it is necessary to monitor their bioaccumula- tion in key species, because this will give an indication of the tem- poral and spatial extent of the process, as well as an assessment of the potential impact on organism health (Kotze, Preez, & van Vu- ren, 1999). Because the metal pollution in aquatic environments can be harmful to human health, it is necessary to understand and control the hazard levels of pollution in seafood. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the levels of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn in the muscles and livers of the different species from Ae- gean Sea and Mediterranean Sea, and to assess the public health risks associated with consuming fish harvested from these areas by estimating daily and weekly intakes and by comparing them with the PTWI and PTDI recommended by various authorities. 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Sampling Fish samples were obtained from commercial fishing efforts of local fishermen in four different sites in Aegean Sea and Mediterra- nean Sea from November 2004 to July 2005. These sampling sites are Northern Aegean Sea (NAS) and Central Aegean Sea (CAS) in Aegean Sea, Antalya Bay (AB) and _ Iskenderun Bay (IB) in Mediter- ranean Sea (Fig. 1). Twelve fish species (124 samples) examined in this study are axillary seabream (Pagellus acarne Risso, 1827), piper gurnard (Trigla lyra L., 1758), painted comber (Serranus scriba L., 1758), small-spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula L., 1758), bas- tard grunt (Pomadasys incisus Bowdich, 1825), Atlantic stargazer (Uranoscopus scaber L., 1758), thinlip mullet (Liza ramado Risso, 0308-8146/$ - see front matter Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2008.06.071 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 326 6141693; fax: +90 326 6141877. E-mail address: mturkmen65@hotmail.com (M. Türkmen). Food Chemistry 113 (2009) 233–237 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Food Chemistry journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem