Characterization of essential and toxic elements in cephalopod tissues by EDXRT and AAS

Abstract

Concentrations of K, Ca, Cr, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se, Rb, Sr, Cd, Hg and Pb were measured in the muscle, digestive glands and gonads of Octopus vulgaris, Lolligo vulgaris and Sepia officinalis captured in the west and south coast of Portugal. Essential elements (K, Ca, Fe, Cu, Zn, Se, Rb and Sr) were obtained by energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectrometry, while toxic elements (Cr, Ni, Cd, Hg and Pb) were obtained by atomic absorption spectrometry. The latter technique was used owing to its higher sensitivity, since these elements were not detected by the first technique. The tissues of the three species present a similar pattern for essential elements. Potassium and Ca are present at the highest concentration in all the studied samples. The highest levels for toxic elements were found in the digestive glands, exceeding the maximum allowed values in the case of Se and Cd. However, in the muscle tissue these values were never reached. Comparing both coasts, we can say that the west coast presents higher levels of Pb while the south coast presents enhanced levels of Hg. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.