Evaluation of Potentially Toxic Trace Metals and Associated Health Risk Assessment in Buffalo Milk

Aqsa Rafiq, Munir H. Shah, Mohamed Mohany, Adnan Ahmad Tahir, Mohamed Farouk Elsadek, Muhammad Abdul Qayyum and Arshad Mehmood Abbasi ()
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Aqsa Rafiq: Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad 22060, Pakistan
Munir H. Shah: Department of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan
Mohamed Mohany: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Adnan Ahmad Tahir: Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad 22060, Pakistan
Mohamed Farouk Elsadek: Department of Community Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 10219, Riyadh 11433, Saudi Arabia
Muhammad Abdul Qayyum: Department of Chemistry, Division of Science & Technology, University of Education, Lahore 54770, Pakistan
Arshad Mehmood Abbasi: Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad 22060, Pakistan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 22, 1-20

Abstract: The contamination of toxic trace metals in the food chain is one of the major threats to human health. Milk is part of a balanced diet, which is essential for proper growth, but the ingestion of contaminated milk may cause chronic health disorders. The present study is focused on the assessment of contamination of toxic trace metals in buffalo milk and the associated health risks to the consumers of Abbottabad, Pakistan. Standard analytical methods were employed to quantify the metal contents in the milk samples collected from various shops and homes in the months from June 2021 to October 2021. Health risk assessment was accomplished by computing estimated daily intake (EDI), health risk index (HRI), target hazard quotient (THQ), hazard index (HI), and target cancer risk (TCR). On a comparative basis, the mean concentration of Cr was found to be highest in both shop and home milk samples (101.3 ± 45.33 and 54.11 ± 24.20 mg/L, respectively), followed by Pb, Zn, Ni, and Cd levels. In buffalo milk collected from homes, the highest concentration of the metals was found in October, followed by July, September, June, and August. In shop milk, the increasing trend of metal contents was July > October > September > June > August. Significantly strong positive relationships were noted between the metal concentrations in the milk samples. Multivariate cluster analysis and principal component analysis exhibited significant anthropogenic contributions of the metals in buffalo milk. Mostly, the EDI and HRI values were exceeding the recommended limits; however, THQ, HI, and TCR showed that the intake of these metals through milk consumption was within the safe limit and thus revealed no significant carcinogenic or non-carcinogenic risks to the consumers. It is high time to ensure the continuous monitoring of organic/inorganic toxins in the milk and concerned authorities should take strict measures to control the contamination of milk and other food products.

Keywords: buffalo milk; potentially toxic metals; statistical analysis; health risk; cancer risk (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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