Concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in some popular smoked fish consumed in Nigeria. – C. M. A. Iwegbue, F. I. Bassey, I. Agbozu, and G.E. Nwajei
ABSTRACT
The concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was determined in 9 popular smoked fish species Clarias gariepinus, Paranchana obscura, Heterotis niloticus, Sardinella aurita , Scomber scombrus, Pseudotholitus senegalensis, Ethmalosa fimbriata, Gymnarchus niloticus and Trachurus trachurus in the Nigerian market after hexane/dichloromethane extraction and clean up by gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID). The 16 PAHs concentration of these species were in the range of 52.4 µg kg-1 to 1225.9 µg kg-1 while the concentration of the eight carcinogenic PAHs (PAH8) were in the range of not detected to 530.8 µg kg-1. The estimated daily intake based on any of the indicators for occurrence of PAHs in food (BaP, PAH2, PAH4, PAH8) ranged from nd – 184 ng kg-1bw day-1. The computed margin of exposure (MOE) values were less than 10,000 for Clarias gariepinus, Gymnarchus niloticus and Ethmalosa fimbriata, indicating serious concern for the consumers’ health.