Bioacculumation of Metals in Aquatic Food Chain in Amasiri River, Ebonyi State Nigeria

Background and Objective: There is an unrestrained dumping of wastes and chemicals into water bodies of communities in the South East of Nigeria due to the increasing industrialization. This has led to contamination of the water bodies which serve many puroposes such as recreation, domestics and fishing. The bioaccumulation and biomagnification of some metals from water to fish and then to consumer’s plasma and vitreous humour formed the crux of this study. Materials and Methods: Water and fish harvested from Amasiri River (Eziyi aku) in Ebonyi State Nigeria and serum and vitreous humour of experimental animals were analyzed for metals such as cadmium, chromium, mercury, lead and arsenic. The sample size of the study was made up of twelve male albino rabbits divided into control and treatment groups. Fish meal prepared from fish harvested from Amasiri River was given strictly to the treatment group. The other animals meals devoid of metals were given to both groups indiscriminately. The metals were estimated by using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and the choice statistical tool was student t-test analyzed analysed using SPSS version 18-22. Results: The concentrations of metals in Amasiri River water were higher than the minimum permissible limit as indicated by the World Health Organization (WHO). Similarly, there was a significant increase in concentrations of cadmium, lead and mercury, whereas chromium concentration decreased in Amasiri River water when compared to the fishes harvested from same river. Concentrations of vitreous cadmium, chromium and lead were significantly elevated in the vitreous of the treatment group when compared with that of the control. In the same vein, serum lead concentration increased significantly in the treatment group when compared to that of the control, whereas serum chromium concentration decreased. Conclusion: Conclusively, the findings affirm the bioaccumulation and biomagnification capacity of some metals along the aquatic-food chain cycle with the potentials of long-term systemic disruptions.