Assessment of trace metal bioaccumulation on the shells of edible gastropod Chicoreus ramosus and Hemifusus pugilinus

Abstract

The current study aimed to examine how some gastropods absorbed trace metals (Chicoreus ramosus and Hemifusus pugilinus). The existence of 17 elements, including aluminium, arsenic, boron, calcium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, potassium, lithium, manganese, sodium, nickel, phosphorus, lead, and zinc (Al, As, B, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, and Zn), was confirmed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) analysis of trace metals. According to the ICP-MS results, C. ramosus (Al: 1.97 ± 0.2µg/g, Fe: 1.93 ± 0.2µg/g, and As: 1.52 ± 0.4µg/g) and H. pugilinus (Al: 1.85 ± 0.7µg/g, Fe: 1.68 ± 0.6µg/g, and As: 1.37 ± 0.6µg/g) both had significant amounts of aluminium, iron, and arsenic, respectively. Zinc concentrations of 0.58 to 0.7μg/g (C. ramosus) and 0.67 to 0.2μg/g were recorded (H. pugilinus). The elemental composition of the surface of the sample was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) micrographs, which also showed the degree of trace metal absorption in the chosen gastropod species.