Assessment and comparison of heavy metal concentrations in muscle tissue of Oriental river prawn (Macrobrachium nipponense De Haan, 1849) in the Siah Darvishan River, Guilan province, Iran

In this research, concentration of eleven elements (As, Fe, Hg, Zn, Pb, Se, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni) in the muscle tissue of 40 Oriental river prawn (Macrobrachium nipponense) collected by bait trap from the Siah Darvishan River, Guilan province, Iran were determined using Varian Atomic absorption spectroscopy. The lowest and highest mean concentrations of metals were observed, as follows: Zinc 39.6-46.7, Copper 24.2-28.3, Iron 15.27-18.19, Manganese 3.36-3.82, Selenium 0.78-0.84, Arsenic 0.61-0.74, Lead 0.34-0.41, Nickel 0.34-0.41, Chromium 0.16-0.20, Cadmium 0.12-0.15 and Mercury 0.069-0.078 (μg g–1d.w.), respectively. According to the results of this study, mean concentrations of all elements in the muscle tissue of Oriental river prawn, except for Arsenic and Manganese were less than threshold limit value recommended by FAO/WHO international standard.