Risk Assessment, Interdependencies, and Source Appraisal of Bioaccumulated Heavy and Essential Metals in Seafood as Pollutants.

Fish as seafood is a bioindicator for chemical substances like trace metals in the water systems that accumulate in fish bodies. Fe and Zn as essential and Pb, Ni, and Cd as heavy metals were quantitatively analyzed in fish muscle samples by an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Perkin Elmer, Model AAnalyst-700). Fe and Zn's results agreed with the food quality guidelines. Fe was the highest in the range of 2.6-9.4 in mg kg-1. The Zn content indicates the contribution of anthropogenic agents through the food chain. Ni > Pb > Cd was found in marine fish species and Pb > Ni > Cd in freshwater fish. The results have been explored for source appraisal of bioaccumulated trace metals and categorized selected marine and freshwater species based on characteristics (like life cycle and habitats) by applying multivariate principal component analysis to risk assessment parameters. The Pearson correlation coefficients were applied to the risk assessment parameters for interdependencies of metals. Interestingly, synchronized outcomes were obtained with trace metal data. The study results were interpreted in the context of the fish type, habitat, surroundings, feed, life cycle, etc. The living habitats strongly affect trace metal accumulation, target hazard quotient (THQ), and target cancer risk (TR) attributes. The fishermen's community was at higher risk for carcinogenic effects than other seafood consumers. Overall, determinations for fish species were under safe limits as described by international regulatory bodies (FAO, WHO, ANHMRC, WAA).

Graphene oxide decorated with cellulose and copper nanoparticle as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of malachite green.

In this study, the graphene oxide surface was modified by grafting of nanocellulose and copper nanoparticles to promote the surface charge and adsorption efficiency for malachite green (MG). The structural and configurational properties of GO-CEL-Cu were verified by UV/Vis, SEM, TEM, EDX and FTIR spectroscopy and confirmed the electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonding between GO, CEL and Cu-NPs. TEM images confirmed the deposition of Cu-NPs size between 24 and 37 nm on the GO surface. The uniform fine particles size makes strong interfacial interaction with GO sheets result in efficient load transfer from the matrix to the hybrid. The variable parameters such as adsorbent amount, MG concentration, pH, time and temperature were investigated to achieve optimum experimental condition. The experimental data was justified by Langmuir isotherm model with adsorption capacity for GO, GO-Cu, GO-CEL, GO-CEL-Cu as 127.3, 149.2, 156.8 and 207.1 mg/g, respectively. The spontaneity and endothermic nature of the process were confirmed by negative Gibbs free energy and followed the pseudo-second-order rate equation. Additionally, positive values of enthalpy and entropy suggesting endothermic process and increase randomness during process, respectively. In conclusion, nanocomposite is capable to adsorb the toxic dye due to its well economic, eco-friendly, well adsorption rate and regeneration ability.

Facile, one-pot biosynthesis and characterization of iron, copper and silver nanoparticles using Syzygium cumini leaf extract: As an effective antimicrobial and aflatoxin B1 adsorption agents.

In this study, a facile, ecological and economical green method is described for the fabrication of iron (Fe), copper (Cu) and silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) from the extract of Syzygium cumini leaves. The obtained metal NPs were categorized using UV/Vis, SEM, TEM, FTIR and EDX-ray spectroscopy techniques. The Fe-, Cu- and Ag-NPs were crystalline, spherical and size ranged from 40-52, 28-35 and 11-19 nm, respectively. The Ag-NPs showed excellent antimicrobial activities against methicillin- and vancomycin-resistance Staphylococcus aureus bacterial strains and Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus fungal species. Furthermore, the aflatoxins (AFs) production was also significantly inhibited when compared with the Fe- and Cu-NPs. In contrast, the adsorption results of NPs with aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) were observed as following order Fe->Cu->Ag-NPs. The Langmuir isotherm model well described the equilibrium data by the sorption capacity of Fe-NPs (105.3 ng mg-1), Cu-NPs (88.5 ng mg-1) and Ag-NPs (81.7 ng mg-1). The adsorption was found feasible, endothermic and follow the pseudo-second order kinetic model as revealed by the thermodynamic and kinetic studies. The present findings suggests that the green synthesis of metal NPs is a simple, sustainable, non-toxic, economical and energy-effective as compared to the others conventional approaches. In addition, synthesized metal NPs might be a promising AFs adsorbent for the detoxification of AFB1 in human and animal food/feed.

Comparative study of raw and chemically treated mangrove leaf for remediation of 304 Methyl Violet 2B dye from aqueous solution: thermo-kinetics aspect.

The adsorption process is the most attractive alternative way for the treatment of industrial effluents. The main objective of the study is to compare the efficacy of adsorption by raw and chemically treated forms of mangrove plant leaf powder. It acts as adsorbent, and would not only be economical but also help to reduce pollution. The adsorbent was characterized by Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Results showed that percent removal of dye was higher by chemically treated mangrove leaf (98%) than by raw mangrove leaf (75%) under all determined conditions. The equilibrium and kinetics adsorption data were analyzed by the Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo second order model. They were found to be the best fit to interpret the present data. The thermodynamic parameters were calculated by using the Langmuir equilibrium constant. Results suggested that dye adsorption on mangrove leaf was a spontaneous and exothermic process with enthalpy change = -15.26 kJ/mol, and there was decrease in disorder with entropy change = -5.089 kJ/mol K.

Aflatoxins in composite spices collected from local markets of Karachi, Pakistan.

This survey was carried out to evaluate the occurrence of total aflatoxins (AFs; B1+B2+G1+G2) in unpacked composite spices. A total of 75 samples of composite spices such as biryani, karhai, tikka, nihari and korma masalas were collected from local markets of Karachi, Pakistan, and analysed using HPLC technique. The results indicated that AFs were detected in 77% (n = 58) samples ranging from 0.68 to 25.74 µg kg(-1) with a mean of 4.63 ± 0.95 µg kg(-1). In 88% (n = 66) samples, AFs level was below the maximum limits (ML = 10 µg kg(-1)) as imposed by EU. Furthermore, 61% (n = 46) tested samples contained AFs level between 1 and 10 µg kg(-1), 9% (n = 7) exhibited AFs contamination ranged 10-20 µg kg(-1) and only 3% (n = 2) of the investigated samples contained AFs levels higher than the ML of 20 µg kg(-1) for total aflatoxins as set by the USA. It was concluded that there is need to establish a strict and continuous national monitoring plan to improve safety and quality of spices in Pakistan.

Fungal flora and aflatoxin contamination in Pakistani wheat kernels (Triticum aestivum L.) and their attribution in seed germination.

This study aimed to isolate fungal pathogens and to subsequently quantify aflatoxin (AF; B1 + B2 + G1 + G2) contamination in wheat crops grown in Pakistan. Accordingly, a total of 185 wheat samples were collected from different areas of Pakistan and numerous potent fungal pathogens were isolated. AF contamination attributed to the presence of intoxicating fungal pathogens and resulting metabolic activities were quantified using a high performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detector coupled with postcolumn derivatization. Additionally, the effect of fungal pathogens on seed germination was also examined. The results obtained showed that 50% of tested wheat samples were found to be contaminated with a diverse range of fungal species. The rate of recurrence of fungal pathogens were Aspergillus 31%, Penicillium 9%, Fusarium 8%, Rhizopus 3%, and Alternaria 2%. The presence of Tilletia indica and Claviceps purpurea species was found to be inevident in all tested wheat samples. AFB1 contamination was detected in 48 (26.0%) samples and AFB2 in 13 (7.0%) samples. AFG1 and AFG2 were not found in any of the tested samples. The contamination range of AFB1 and AFB2 was 0.05-4.78 µg/kg and 0.02-0.48 µg/kg, respectively. The total amount of AFs (B1 + B2) found in 48 (26.0%) samples had a mean level of 0.53 ± 0.40 µg/kg and a contamination range of 0.02-5.26 µg/kg. The overall results showed that in 137 (74.0%) samples, AFs were not found within detectable limits. Furthermore, in 180 (97.2%) samples, AF levels were found to be below the maximum tolerated levels (MTL) recommended by the European Union (4 µg/kg). In five (2.7%) samples, AF contamination was higher than the MTL of the European Union. However, these samples were fit for human consumption with reference to the MTL (20 µg/kg) assigned by the USA (Food and Drug Administration and Food and Agriculture Organization) and Pakistan (Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority). Germination rates in healthy and contaminated wheat kernels were 84.6% and 45.2%, respectively. Based on the obtained results, it was concluded that the levels of fungal pathogen and AF contamination in Pakistani-grown wheat are not a potential threat to consumer health. However, control procedures along with a strict monitoring policy are mandatory to further minimize the prevalence of fungal carriers and the potency of AFs in crops cultivated in Pakistan.