Abstract

Toxic and essential elements levels (chromium, copper, iron, manganese, nickel, lead, cadmium, and zinc) have been determined in the brain, heart, liver, gill, gonads, spleen, bile and muscle of S. lucioperca, collected from the Caspian Sea by employing Flame- Atomic absorption spectrometry. Results indicated that nearly all of the toxic metals concentrations (nickel, lead and cadmium) in tissues were higher than limits for fish suggested by Food and Agricultural Organization, World Health Organization and European Union. Lead was higher in spleen than other tissues. Levels of essential metals (iron, copper, zinc and manganese) were below the limits suggested by European Union and Food and Agricultural Organization/World Health Organization and Turkish Food Codex for fish. Iron distribution pattern in tissues was in the following order: heart (88.67 +/- A 2.74 mu g g(-1) wet wt) > spleen (70.96 +/- A 2.05 mu g g(-1) wet wt) > bile (29.35 +/- A 0.94 mu g g(-1) wet wt) > brain (14.29 +/- A 0.51 mu g g(-1) wet wt) > liver (8.57 +/- A 0.29 mu g g(-1) wet wt) > gill (3.20 +/- A 0.14 mu g g(-1) wet wt) > red (2.79 +/- A 0.11 mu g g(-1) wet wt) and white muscles (2.79 +/- A 0.09 mu g g(-1) wet wt) > gonads (2.57 +/- A 0.07 mu g g(-1) wet wt).