merged

Heavy Metal Contents of Pyropia vietnamensis (Rhodophyta) from coastal
area of Kuala Nerus, Malaysia
Nur Nabilah binti Ahmad Ariffian
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Siti Aishah binti Abdullah
Co-supervisor: Emeritus Prof. Dr. Noor Azhar bin Mohamed Shazili
Bachelor of Science (Marine Biology)
School of Marine and Environmental Science
A species of the most expensive red seaweed used as direct human food, Pyropia
vietnamensis was discovered for the first time in Malaysia on rock revetments along
Kuala Nerus in 2014. In this study, heavy metals mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), cadmium
(Cd) and lead (Pb) contents of P. vietnamensis during its entire growing season from
November 2016 to March 2017 were determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass
Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The objectives of this study were to determine whether these
elements changed over the growing period and whether this seaweed was safe for
human consumption. Hg was not detected, As, Pb and Cd increased slightly with
growing period where highest levels matched seaweed growth and biomass peaks. Cd
was within safety limit but not for As and Pb. All As values exceeded the safety limit
(1 mg/kg) and 58% of the sample values were more than 15 mg/kg.
1833 | UMT UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH DAY 2018