Distribution of Arsenic in Some Fishes

Abstract

Arsenic contents were determined in the tissues and the muscle of monkfish, Kathetostoma giganetum; English hake, Merluccius austrails; and Hoki, Macrurouns novaezelandidae. Tissues that were examined included liver, kidney, spleen, stomach, intestine, gall, heart and gill, and the muscles were divided into 14-16 sections to investigate the distribution of arsenic. In monkfish arsenic contents were higher in the muscle being 5.6-25.4 ppm than in the tissues, and the arsenic concentration in the dorsal muscle was about twice that in the ventral muscle. Much less arsenic was found in the English hake and little difference was found amongst the tissues and the muscle. Hoki contained more arsenic in the tissues than in the muscle; concentrations were 13.4 and 14.6 ppm in liver and gall, respectively. In the muscle, 61-96% of total arsenic was found in the fraction extracted with 5% perchloric acid; there other fractions, water-soluble protein, salt-soluble protein and fat fractions shared the rest. In contrast, the liver of Hoki contained as high as 38% of arsenic in the fat fraction, although the fraction extracted with perchloric acid contained the largest percentage at 56%. No correlation was observed between body weight of monkfish and arsenic concentraitons.