Heavy metal concentrations in duck eggs and potential human health risk via consumption

Abstract

© 2020, Hokkaido University. All rights reserved. Heavy metals commonly found in environmental matrices are from natural or anthropogenic activities. Their contamination effects especially on human health from non-degradable properties are of major concern. The aims of this study, thus, were to determine Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn residues in duck eggshells, yolk and albumin, and to investigate the correlations of these metal residues with the surrounding environmental media (soil, water, and feed). Target hazard quotient (THQ) of individual heavy metal was used to evaluate potential human health risk via egg consumption. Thirty duck egg samples were randomly collected from each free range laying duck farm (total of 8 farms). The samples collected were analyzed for heavy metal concentrations using the flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). Results showed that average concentrations of Fe (71.96±1.33 µg/g dw) in yolk and Pb (6.76±0.21 µg/g dw) in albumin were significantly highest when compared to other investigated metals, whereas Cu concentration was mostly found in egg shells. In addition, the predominantly found metal in soil samples was Fe, whereas in water and feed samples were Ni and Pb, respectively. Principle component analysis (PCA) revealed that the concentrations of heavy metals found in eggshells and egg contents are highly correlated with their concentrations in the surrounding water and soil matrices as well as feed. The THQs for Pb, which were greater than 1, indicated that there could be potential for human health risks upon consumption of contaminated duck eggs.