EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT COOKING PROCESSES ON BIOAVAILABILITY OF MERCURY AND ARSENIC IN EXPOSED AFRICAN

Fish intake is one of the most common ways for humans to be exposed to pollutants in the environment. This study was done to explore different methods of lowering mercury and arsenic bioavailability in Clarias gariepinus, as well as the ameliorating effects of cooking processes (boiling, frying, and roasting) on mercury and arsenic bioavailability in exposed Catfish. Thirty-six Clarias gariepinus (3 months; 100-150g; 10-15cm length) were divided into three groups at random (n=12). The test salts for Mercury (group A) and Arsenic (group B) were 0.2mg/L and 20g/L, respectively, while Group C served as a control. Exposed fish were exposed to different cooking techniques every seven days for four weeks, following which they were digested and analysed. Mercury and arsenic levels in fish samples were evaluated using titrimetric techniques and an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS), respectively, and the data were analysed using analysis of variance with the least significant difference (LSD) accepted at p=.05. A statistically significant difference (p=.05) was detected in the mercury level of the processed fish throughout the weeks when compared to the raw sample, with raw>roasted>fried>boiled being the order of preference. There was no statistically significant difference (p=.05) between weeks for arsenic-treated fishes, but there was an increase in concentration in processed samples compared to raw samples for the four weeks and in this order: rawroastedfriedboiled. Neither Mercury nor Arsenic are significantly reduced by any of the cooking methods. The liver likewise had the highest levels of Mercury and Arsenic, followed by the gills and muscle of the catfish. Since this and other studies have found that cooking techniques have little influence on heavy metals in food, further research needs to be done employing a combination of cooking methods under various conditions in order to mitigate the effects of heavy metals in food.

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