Determination of nickel and chromium content in serum, emulsion, skin and viscera of Iranian tuna fish

Abstract

Contamination of heavy metals, namely, nickel and chromium was evaluated in serum, emulsion and tissues of Euthynnus affinis and Thunnus tonggol collected from Persian Gulf. The concentration of metals was determined by Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (GFAAS). Tissues analysis revealed that viscera in Euthynnus affinis accumulated the highest levels of Ni and Cr. Nickel concentration in the non-edible parts of the examined fish (viscera in both fish species and skin in Thunnus tonggol) were higher than the established values by World Health Organization (WHO), whilst concentration of chromium for all samples were higher than maximum permissible limits determined by the WHO, except for serum of Thunnus tonggol.