Marketing of Freshwater and Marine Fish Species in Alexandria City, Egypt: Human Health Risk of Specific Metals

Fish intake may constitute a significant route by which humans are exposed to metals, especially people who depend on fish as a source of protein as Alexandrians. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the metal contents in muscles in eight commonly consumed freshwater (Tilapia, Catfish, and Common Carp) and marine fish species (Emperors, Groupers, Mackerels, Silver Pomfret, and Roving Groupers) collected from the local markets located in Alexandria City for a 1-year calendar year, 2022. Seasonal variations in the levels of the tested metals in the fish species, with significant differences between the species, were recorded. Also, the levels of Cu, Zn, Fe, Co, and Cd in all the tested fish species collected during the experiment did not exceed the guideline limits, while Ni, Cr, and Pb in fish collected during October-May, June-September, and February-May 2022, respectively, exceeded the permissible limits settled by FAO and WHO. Additionally, Mackerels and Roving Groupers had high-level contents of Mn that exceeded the permissible limits settled by European Commission. The accumulation of these metals in muscles of different fish species had relative variation in the accumulation, and Cu was the most predominant element in Tilapia, Zn in Catfish, Roving Groupers, and Mackerels, Fe in Common Carp, Groupers, Emperors, and Silver Pomfret, and Co in Tilapia. Consumption of fish with a high Metal Pollution Index (MPI) value may pose a potential public health risk. On the meantime, the calculated values of estimated daily intakes (EDI), hazard index (HI), and target health quotient (THQ) indicated no potential health risk for Alexandrians via the consumption of these fish species because they did not exceed the World Health Organization's acceptable daily intake.