Metal(Loid)s in Aquatic Products and Their Potential Health Risk

Abstract

Aquatic products decrease environmental burdens and improve human health by supplying various essential nutrients, while their contamination with metal(loid)s could pose health risks to humans through food chain. In this study, the concentrations, trophic magnification and health risks of multiple metal(loid)s in various aquatic products were analyzed, including arsenic, cadmium, mercury, lead, cobalt, manganese, iron, copper, nickel and zinc. The results showed that the total concentrations of the metal(loid)s in marine foods from the same sea area were in the following order: seaweeds > shellfish > cephalopods > crustaceans > saltwater fish > freshwater fish. Arsenic speciation analysis indicated that high concentrations of arsenolipids were detected in lower trophic organisms. The maximum level of organoarsenic in seafood should be evaluated because of the potential toxicity of arsenolipids and arsenosugar metabolites. Weekly intake of metal(loid)s was far below the recommended provisional tolerable weekly intake even with excessive consumption of aquatic products. The hazard index was above 1 for excessive consumers, while our results also indicated that the health risks from aquatic products could be sharply decreased by reducing the ingestion of seaweeds and cephalopods. The study provided valuable guidance on the consumption of aquatic products by the general public.Graphical abstract