Potentially toxic trace elements in the muscle of coastal South American fish: Implications for human consumption and health risk assessment.

Micropogonias furnieri and Urophycis brasiliensis are two coastal demersal fish species distributed in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Considering that many coastal areas in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean suffer from anthropogenic pressure, the aim of this study was to assess the level of potentially toxic trace elements (Ag, Al, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se, Sr, V and Zn) in the muscle of coastal species, and evaluated the human health risk related to the consumption of muscle. Mercury, inorganic As (As _i ), V, and Se showed a higher contribution to the total THQ. Considering two possible scenarios, As _i represents 1 % or 5 % of the total As, the total THQ was <1 for general population and of some health concerns for fishermen population (Total THQ > 1; 5 % As _i ). Consequently these results show the importance of quantifying As species in muscle to generate more reliable risk estimates for human health.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)