Determination and Risk Assessment of Toxic Chemical Elements in Fish Samples—A Review

Abstract

This review addresses nutritional and toxicological aspects of fish intake, including the analytical chemistry in quantifying chemical elements in these matrices. Initially, a brief discussion is presented on arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury toxicity in humans. Afterward, the main strategies used for drying fish samples are reported, highlighting the advantages of freeze-drying. In addition, the sample preparation techniques employed for digestion using microwave radiation, closed systems with reflux (cold finger), and acid digestion in open systems are discussed and compared. Advantages, limitations, and specificities of the techniques: inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES), atomic absorption spectrometry with electrothermal atomization (ETAAS), atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS), and the direct mercury analyzer (DMA) employed for the determination of chemical elements in fish samples are briefly presented. Tables displaying analytical characteristics of proposed methods for determining toxic elements in fish samples are also presented. Finally, the estimated weekly intake (EWI), target hazard quotient (THQ), maximum safe consuming quantity (MSCQ), hazard index (HI), and the target carcinogenic risk (TCR) indices which are used in toxicological assessments from chemical elements in fish samples are presented.