Bioaccumulation and non-carcinogenic health risk assessment of heavy metals in selected fish species from South Bay of Laguna Lake

Objective@#The study aimed to determine the concentration of three heavy metals namely, lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and chromium (Cr) present in head, stomach and muscle parts of Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticu) and Blackchin Tilapia (Sarotherodon melanotheron) collected from different sampling sites in South Bay area of Laguna Lake and evaluate its potential health risk for adult consumers. @*Methods@#Live samples of Nile Tilapia and Blackchin Tilapia were hand-collected from three sites of South Bay of Laguna Lake during wet season. Raw and boiled samples were prepared for analysis. Heavy metal concentrations (mg kg-1) were determined through flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The potential health risk posed by more than one metal was calculated using the Total Hazard Quotient (THQ). @*Results@#The heavy metal detected with the highest concentration was Pb, present in Nile Tilapia. The mean concentrations of Pb, Cd, and Cr in both fish samples were high in the head part. Boiled samples have significantly lower concentrations of heavy metal (p<0.05) compared to raw samples. THQ values for Cd in raw fish samples were higher than the recommended level of exposure (THQ < 1.0). @*Conclusion@#The study revealed that cadmium is of greater concern in terms of possible adverse health effects associated with heavy metal bioaccumulation. However, the presence of other metals may further increase the risk of non-carcinogenic adverse effects. The lower health risk is predicted for boiled fish samples.

Dietary diversity of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiary and non-beneficiary households in selected barangays in San Pablo City, Laguna, Philippines

@#<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>OBJECTIVES:</strong> The study aimed to analyze the household dietary diversity of beneficiary and non-beneficiary households of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in selected barangays in San Pablo City, Laguna, Philippines and determine the nutritional status of children (6-60 months old) within these households.<br /><strong>METHODS:</strong> Household dietary diversity score (HDDS) was used as an indicator for the households' dietary diversity. The nutritional status of children was determined using anthropometric data from the Barangay Health Centers. A total of 270 households was randomly selected through stratified random sampling with equal allocation.<br /><strong>RESULTS:</strong> Findings showed that beneficiary households had higher HDDS compared to the non-beneficiary households. The results also suggest that beneficiary households with larger household size, higher income, who were living in rural areas and who have female as well as more educated financial managers, tend to have a more diverse diet. On the other hand, a higher prevalence of malnutrition was observed among children in beneficiary households.<br /><strong>CONCLUSION:</strong> Beneficiary households of 4Ps had better diet quality in terms of diversity than non-beneficiary households. However, the advantage of having a more diverse diet has not fully addressed the malnutrition problem among children as it was still widely prevalent in beneficiary households.</p>