Abstract

Present study was aimed at investigating the three heavy metals namely cadmium, lead and mercury in liver, gills and muscles of sardine fish (Sardina pilchardusWalbaum,1792) which was collected from five locations in south of Morocco. Mass fraction of heavy metals in fish samples were determined using graphite furnace and cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry. Generally, the levels of Cd, Hg and Pb in muscle of sardine were lower than those in livers and gills. This study reveals that the concentrations of heavy metals in sardine are below the maximum acceptable concentrations for human consumption.
Metal concentrations in the edible parts (muscle) of sardine were assessed for human uses according to provisional tolerable weekly and daily intake. The estimated values of all metals in muscle of fish in this study were below the established values. Therefore, it can be concluded that cadmium, lead and mercury in pilchard pose no health risk for consumers.

Key words: Sardina pilchardus; heavy metals; daily intake; Morocco.