Suleman Raheel, Zahoor Muhammad Aftab, Qarni Muhammad Awais, Saleh Ibrahim A, Rao Weili, Hussain Majid, Ismail Tariq, Akhtar Saeed, Okla Mohammad K, Alaraidh Ibrahim A, AbdElgayed Gehad, Saud Shah, Hassan Shah, Nawaz Taufiq, Fahad Shah
Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan.
Faculty of Science, Zarqa University, Zarqa, 13110, Jordan.
Sci Rep. 2025 Feb 11;15(1):5055. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-87152-y.
Metal contamination in water bodies globally poses risks to ecosystems and human health. In Pakistan, water sources are impacted by toxic metals and microbial pollutants, affecting Nile Tilapia, a widely consumed fish in Punjab. This study assessed heavy metal and microbiological contamination in Nile tilapia from the Ravi and Chenab Rivers and nearby farms (Head Muhammad Wala, Shorkot, and Rangpur). Heavy metals, including arsenic, chromium, cadmium, mercury and lead, were analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, Arsenic ranged lowest from 0.15 mg/kg (scales) to highest 1.38 mg/kg (Liver), while Chromium was found to be lowest 73 mg/kg in (scales) and highest 321.83 mg/kg (Liver) in Riverine Fish, whereas in farms fish As ranged lowest from 0.05 mg/kg (flesh) to highest 0.92 mg/kg (gills),while Chromium was found to be lowest 92 mg/kg in (skin) and highest 166.67 mg/kg (Liver). Riverine fish showed elevated heavy metal levels as compared to farmed fish. Moreover, Ravi River fish also showed the highest microbial loads, including total plate counts of 15,335 cfu/g, Salmonella at 373.11 cfu/25 g, and E. coli at 76.55 cfu/g, while Chenab River fish had a significantly higher coliform count (p < 0.05). These findings suggest that farmed fish are less contaminated due to reduced exposure to industrial effluents, emphasizing the need for further research on other commonly consumed fish species in high-industrial regions.
全球水体中的金属污染对生态系统和人类健康构成风险。在巴基斯坦，水源受到有毒金属和微生物污染物的影响，这对尼罗河罗非鱼产生了影响，尼罗河罗非鱼是旁遮普省广泛食用的鱼类。本研究评估了来自拉维河、杰纳布河及附近养殖场（穆罕默德瓦拉角、绍尔果德和朗布尔）的尼罗罗非鱼中的重金属和微生物污染情况。使用原子吸收光谱法分析了包括砷、铬、镉、汞和铅在内的重金属。砷的含量范围最低为0.15毫克/千克（鳞片），最高为1.38毫克/千克（肝脏）；而铬在河鱼中的含量最低为73毫克/千克（鳞片），最高为321.83毫克/千克（肝脏）；在养殖场的鱼中，砷的含量范围最低为0.05毫克/千克（鱼肉），最高为0.92毫克/千克（鳃），而铬的含量最低为92毫克/千克（皮肤），最高为166.67毫克/千克（肝脏）。与养殖鱼类相比，河鱼的重金属含量更高。此外，拉维河的鱼还显示出最高的微生物负荷，包括总平板计数为15335 cfu/g、沙门氏菌为373.11 cfu/25 g、大肠杆菌为76.55 cfu/g，而杰纳布河的鱼大肠菌群计数显著更高（p < 0.05）。这些发现表明，由于减少了对工业废水的接触，养殖鱼类的污染程度较低，这凸显了对高工业地区其他常见食用鱼类进行进一步研究的必要性。
