Heavy metals concentrations in dairy cow feedstuffs from the south of Iran

ABSTRACT

Levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, copper and zinc elements in feedstuffs were measured by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. A total of 216 feedstuffs samples including corn silage, alfalfa hay, wheat straw, full ration pellet, wheat bran and barley were collected from polluted and unpolluted regions during four seasons and prepared with wet digestion. Lead and mercury concentrations did not differ significantly in various feedstuffs, but cadmium level was significantly the highest in barley samples (p < 0.05). All feed material samples had lead, cadmium and mercury concentrations well below the maximum levels allowed by the European Union. The lowest and highest levels of both copper and zinc were found in wheat straw and wheat bran, respectively, but their maximum content did not exceed the legal limits. In contrast to the sampling area, season significantly (P < 0.05) affected heavy metal levels, except for zinc, in feedstuffs.

KEYWORDS:

• Heavy metals
• feedstuffs
• cow
• ICP-AES

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Dr Reza Ghasemi and Mohammad Reza Yazdani for their assistance with sample processing and analysing, respectively. He also wishes to thank Mr Behrouz Behzadi for the English editing of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organisation (AREEO) of Iran.