Determination of heavy metals in Rutilus frisii kutum and Cyprinus carpio Fishes of Caspian Sea

The proteins in fish, as well as other aquatic animals has nowadays become an important protein source in many people's diets around the world and as a results, there has been a growing interest to ensure the health of this important food source. Heavy metals due to their specific physical and chemical characteristics as well as their effects on various ecosystems are considered as a major contaminant of marine environments. Therefore determining the level of heavy metals in water and aquatic species, as a link in the food chain of human beings, is of a great importance. In this study, levels of some heavy metals were evaluated,using  flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (A.A.S) technique, in tissues of two commonly consumed fish in Iran namely Rutilus frisii kutum and Cyprinus carpio collected from the south coastline of the Caspian Sea. The average concentration of  Zn , Cd , Fe and Cu were detected as (μg g-1) dry weight of Rutilus frisii kutum’s tissues : 32.400 1.015, 1.205 0.157, 90.716 0.200 and 9.455 0.215 respectively. These values for Cyprinus carpio were detected as: 30.204 0.282, 1.353 0.179, 85.887 0.267 and 9.144 0.178.