IJFANS International Journal of Food and Nutritional Sciences

ISSN PRINT 2319 1775 Online 2320-7876

An Investigation of Heavy Metal Contamination in Two Commercial Fish Found in the Bahoor Lake, Puducherry, India

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Naveen Kumar , Daneshver Kumar Verma , Binny Mary Marwein , Arvind Kumar , Savita , Duraisamy Ramamoorthy

Abstract

The substantial number of heavy metals released into the Bahoor Lake from the industrial sites, which are then passed into food chains through fish consumption, is a worrying issue in the Bahoor commune. Heavy metal poisoning of the aquatic ecosystem has grown significantly in importance as a global environmental concern in recent years due to related environmental and health issues. Water samples were taken in January 2022 from the Bahoor lake's Inlet, Outlet, and Middle regions, two fish Oreochromis aureus (F1) and Channa puntatus (F2) from Bahoor Lake were caught for commercial usage. At the Inlet, outlet, and middle of the Bahoor lake, the mean pH values were 7.2, 7.1, and 6.8, the EC values were 232.2, 229.9, and 234 µS/cm, and the TDS values were 116.7, 114.9, and 117.4 mg/L, respectively. The Cr, Pb, Ni, and Zn levels in their muscles, livers, kidneys, and gills were examined to gauge the pollution level. Fish species accumulate heavy metals in the following order: Fe > Ni > Cu > Zn > Pb > Cd. Compared to F2, F1 has been found to have a higher content of heavy metals. The concentration of heavy metals in fish organs is also compared, and it is found that the kidney, liver, gills, and skin muscles have the highest concentrations. Fe was discovered to have the highest amount of contamination in the fish kidney, measuring 163.52 mg/kg in F1and 103.37 mg/kg in F2, respectively. Ni and Cu were next, measuring 141.47 and 91.97 mg/kg and 61.87 and 62.85 mg/kg, respectively. Based on analysis of variance, accumulation of heavy metals in two fish species is significant, as p - values less than 0.05 for all heavy metals. This study demonstrated that consuming these fish raised the likelihood of both non-cancerous and malignant health impacts.

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