Abstract
Tissue samples of fresh, dried and canned Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus albacares) from Agatti Island of Lakshadweep were subjected to analysis of metals (cadmium, cobalt, chromium, nickel, lead, aluminium and mercury) using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES) and Mercury analyser. Analysis revealed that the metals have different levels of accumulation - Cd: 0.007-0.387 mu g g(-1), Co: 0.007-0.173 mu g g(-1), Cr: 0.166-0.373 mu g g(-1), Ni: 0.014-0.081 mu g g(-1), Pb: 0.042-0.346 mu g g(-1), Al: 10.69-24.29 mu g g(-1) and Hg: 0.109-0.471 mu g g(-1). The concentration of Co, Cr, Ni and Pb were comparatively higher in smoked and canned tuna rather than in fresh tuna. During processing of tuna, mercury content decreases while the content of other metals increases. Concentration of toxic metal such as Cr in all samples was well above the permissible limits (0.1-0.15 mu g g(-1)) proposed by the World Health Organization, while remaining metals were below the limits. Due to the high accumulation of all heavy metals, it is advisable to avoid liver and gill of tuna from consumption.