Heavy Metals in the Egg Mass of

(Dolabella auricularia) Wedge Sea

Hares in Magellan Bay, Lapu-lapu City
Solitario, S.
Mabitad, J.M.
Oguma, A.
Nasir, M.
Lokot

Wedge Sea Hare

(Dolabella auricularia)

Egg Strings a.k.a “lokot”

Actual Sampling
Results Discussion
Table 1. Heavy metal concentration of lokot via Atomic Absorption Spectrometry expressed in mg/kg.
Toxic Heavy Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Toxicological guideline
Metals
Arsenic <0.079 <0.079 <0.079 0.021 per day (JECFA)

Mercury <0.0384 <0.0384 <0.0384 0.004 PTWI (JECFA)

Cadmium <0.65 <0.65 <0.65 0.025 PTMI (JECFA)

Lead <1.76 <1.76 <1.76 0.025 PTWI (JECFA)

Chromium <14.6 <14.6 <14.6 0.06 per day (US-EPA)

*Concentrations were expressed in mg/kg.

*PTWI = Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake.
Conclusion

• It is revealed in Table 1 that contamination of these five toxic

heavy metals were present in lokot gathered in Magellan Bay,
Lapu-lapu City. This could impose health risks to the consumers if
consumed in high amount provided that 3 toxic heavy metals were
contained high in concentrations compared to the tolerable intake
set by the health certifying bodies like JECFA (WHO/FAO) and US-
EPA. Public awareness and moderation of consumption should be
administered to the consumers.
Recommendations

• Since baseline data on toxicity threshold of heavy metals for lokot

is limited, more research is needed especially in other sites to
verify the extent of similarities in metal contamination.
• A separate study on the heavy metal abundance by
seasonal/temperate differences should be investigated in order to
confirm if seasonal changes contribute substantially to the metal
contamination in lokot.