Assessment of trace elements (Cu, Fe, and Zn) in Limnothrissa miodon from Lake Kariba, Zambia: implications for ecological and human health

Figures & data

Figure 1. Shows the four strata of Lake Kariba, Zambia.

Figure 2. Mean concentrations of trace elements in L. Kariba, Zambia. The error bars represent the standard error and different values represent the mean concentration of each element.

Table 1. Comparison of present study results to selected studies.

Study	Cu (mg/kg dry wt.)	Zn (mg/kg dry wt.)	Fe (mg/kg dry wt.)	Species	Tissue
Present Study	0.152	0.152	5.55	Limnothrisa Miodon	Whole
Kwaansa-Ansah et al. (2019)	0.020 ± 0.012	0.022 ± 0.005	-	Scomber colias	Muscle
Kamzati et al. (2020)	0.406	2.078	18.64	Oreochromis shiranus chilwae	Whole
	0.406	2.214	32.31	Clarias gariepinus
	0.416	2.004	16.34	Barbus paludinosus
Omara et al. (2020)	8.8 ± 0.36 (6.4 ± 0.26)	135.2 ± 0.15 (44.7 ± 0.20)	272.8 ± 0.36	Protopterus annectens	Muscles

Figure 3. Mean concentrations of copper in the four strata of L. Kariba, Zambia. The error bars represent the standard error and different letters show significant differences.

Figure 4. Mean concentrations of iron in the four strata of L. Kariba, Zambia. The error bars represent the standard error and different letters show significant differences.

Figure 5. Mean concentrations of zinc in the four strata of L. Kariba, Zambia. The error bars represent the standard error and different letters show significant differences.

Table 2. Maximum Permissible Limit (MPL) of heavy metals in fish (mg/kg dry wt.) according to international standards.

	Trace Element
Cu	Fe	Zn	Reference
0.152	5.550	5.113	Current study
30	–	30	FAO (1983)
30	–	40	FAO/WHO (1989)
30	100	100	WHO (1989)

Table 3. A comparison between estimated daily intake (EDI) and the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for males and females.

Element mg/day	RDA Male			RDA Female			EDI
	19–30y	31–50y	51–70y	19–30y	31–50y	51–70y
Cu	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.12
Fe	8	8	8	18	18	8	4.40
Zn	11	11	11	8	8	8	4.054

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Data availability

The data used to support the findings and conclusions of this study are available within the manuscript.