Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Smoked Fishes and Their Carcinogenic Health Risks

Abstract

In this study, the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their carcinogenic health risks were investigated in four commonly consumed smoked fish species (Trichogaster fasciata, Chanda nama, Pethia manipurensis, and Mystus ngasep) from North-eastern part of India. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was utilized for the separation and analysis of PAH compounds. The study revealed that concentrations of major PAHs in the investigated fish were Pyrene, Fluoranthene, Benzo(b)Fluoranthene, Chrysene, Benzo(a)anthracene, Anthracene, and Fluorene, respectively. The concentrations of these PAHs in fish samples were well below the maximum permissible level of 2.0 µg/kg for BaP, as recommended by the European Union (EU) under regulation No 835/2011. The highest recorded sum of four PAHs (BaP + Chry + BbF + BaA) was found in P. manipurensis (0.185 µg/kg), followed by T. fasciata (0.128 µg/kg), and C. nama (0.073 µg/kg). The four PAHs were not detected in M. ngasep. Importantly, sum of these four PAHs in all fish species remained well below the maximum permissible level of 12 µg/kg for BaP in smoked fish intended for human consumption, as specified by EU regulation 835/2011. Furthermore, ratio of low molecular weight (LMW) PAHs to high molecular weight (HMW) PAHs in all fish samples was found to be less than 1. This suggests that PAHs in fish samples primarily originated from pyrogenic sources, such as combustion processes, rather than petrogenic sources. The estimated daily intake of carcinogenic PAHs, expressed as Benzo(a)pyrene equivalent dose, ranged from 2.27 × 10⁻⁹ to 6.15 × 10⁻⁹ mg/kg/day. The calculated excess carcinogenic risk values varied from 1.66 × 10⁻⁸ to 4.49 × 10⁻⁸, all of which were below the permissible level (1.0 × 10⁻⁵) set by USEPA for causing cancer risk. Consequently, this study suggests that consumption of these smoked fish species does not pose significant carcinogenic health risks to consumers.

Keywords:

• Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)
• polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
• smoked fish
• carcinogenic health risks
• human health

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the staffs of the Department of Life Sciences (Zoology) for providing permission to use instrumentation facility. The authors also thank the colleagues of the Fishery Research Laboratory, Manipur University for their valuable support during the course of this study. The authors also thank Konsam Sanathoi for his support during this work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data used for the analysis in this study are available upon request.

Additional information

Funding

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the Vice-chancellor of Manipur University, India for the financial support provided to undertake this research work.