Essential Elements in Muscle Tissue of Rhizoprionodon acutus and Sphyrna lewini from West Java Waters

Information of essential elements in sharks are still limited, especially from Indonesian waters. The aims of this study were to report the concentration of 12 elements (Mg, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, Se, Sr, and Mo) using inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in Sphyrna lewini (hammerhead shark) and Rhizoprionodon acutus (milk shark) from West Java waters, Indonesia. The results of this study showed that the concentration of Mg, Ca, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, and Sr in S. lewini are higher than in R. acutus. The chemometrics analysis using partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) showed that total length (TL), total weight (TW), Co, Se, V, and Cu concentration were important variables in sample classification to determine milk shark and hammerhead shark. Overall essential elements in sharks showed positive correlation to morphometric and metal–metal correlation.