Bioaccumulation of heavy metal lead (Pb) in different tissues of brackish water fish Mugil cephalus (Linnaeus, 1758)

ABSTRACT

This study was performed to determine the heavy metal accumulation concentrations in different tissues ofthe selected brackish water fish Mugil cephalus. The fishes were exposed to sub-lethal concentrations of leadacetate (Pb (C2H3O2)2) for 96 hour, and LC50 value was found to be 18.7 ppm. The one-tenth of (1/10) LC50(1.89 ppm) value was selected as a lower sub-lethal concentration for the exposure period of 30 days. Theorgans of fish, namely, gills, liver, and muscle were carefully separated through the dissection from fish forthe determination of heavy metal using Absorption Spectrophotometer (Perkin Elmer Analyst-400, USA). Theresults reveal that the low concentration of lead (1.89 ppm) exhibits a maximum level of accumulation in theliver (0.746 ± 0.0033 μg/g), gills (0.672 ± 0.0069 μg/g), and muscle (0.254 ± 0.0052 μg/g) tissues of 30 daysexposed. The result of the present investigation also reveals that the time-dependent lead accumulation indifferent tissues of fish M. cephalus exposed to different sub-lethal concentration of the lead. These findingsextend for future studies on the evaluation of lead accumulation tendency in relation to the eco-toxicologicalobservations for heavy metals risk assessment.