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Potentially toxic elements and microplastics in muscle tissues of different marine species from the Persian Gulf: Levels, associated risks, and trophic transfer
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Researchers analyzed potentially toxic elements and microplastics in the muscle tissue of various seafood species from the Persian Gulf. They found high levels of both contaminants in crustaceans, with arsenic posing the greatest cancer risk to consumers. The study indicates that biomagnification occurs for certain contaminants through the marine food web, raising concerns about the combined health risks of heavy metals and microplastics in seafood.
Selected potentially toxic elements (PTEs), including As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn, along with microplastic particles (MPs) were characterized in the muscle of seafood species in order to study potential health risk and also investigate biomagnification of the contaminants. The results revealed high levels of the analyzed PTEs and MPs in crustaceans. The cancer risk among the consumer population (adult and children) posed by As is higher than the acceptable lifetime risk of 10. Portunus plagicus and Platycephalus indicus had the highest and lowest amount of MP particles in their muscles, respectively, among investigated species. Finally, PTEs (except Hg) and MPs are not biomagnified in the collected species. The results of this research emphasize the importance of accounting for health risks posed by potential pollutants via consumption of contaminated seafood.
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