Quantification of Some Heavy Metals in Hair of Dairy Cows Housed in Different Areas from Sicily as a Bioindicator of Environmental Exposure-A Preliminary Study.

Laura Perillo,Francesca Arfuso,Francesca Licitra,Salvatore Dara,Vincenzo Monteverde,Giuseppe Piccione,Giuseppe Cascone,Emanuela Tropia

doi:10.3390/ani11082268

Abstract

Simple SummaryHeavy metals are considered one of the most critical pollutants that contaminate the environment through anthropogenic or natural activities. Animals are very good indicators of environmental pollution as they inhabit the same space as humans and are exposed to the same pollutants. The levels of selected heavy metals in hair samples of Holstein dairy cows are evaluated in this study. The gathered results would emphasize the usefulness of hair samples as possible bioindicators of heavy metal exposure that, in the long term, could be harmful to the final consumer. Moreover, this study gives an overview about the scenario of anthropogenic activity effects on heavy metal accumulation in dairy cows from Ragusa, a peculiar Sicilian province particularly dedicated to cow breeding for milk production.The objective of this preliminary study was to evaluate the levels of selected heavy metals in hair samples of Holstein dairy cows reared on agricultural soils characterized by grassland subjected to anthropogenic impacts. Ninety Holstein-Friesian cows were enrolled in the study and divided into six groups according to farm origin. From each animal, hair samples were collected in order to determine the content of aluminum, chromium, iron, copper, zinc, arsenic, cadmium, and lead. One-way analysis of variance was applied to assess statistically significant differences in the studied heavy metals among the six groups. A significant effect of groups (p < 0.05) on all tested heavy metals was observed. In this study, the low concentration of heavy metals in the hair of the studied animals led us to think that the cows were subjected to low levels of these compounds, preventing them from bioaccumulating. Although the current study provides only preliminary results, it highlights the importance of investigating the concentration of heavy metals in cow hair to improve the health and welfare of both humans and animals.

Highlights

Heavy metals are considered one of the most critical pollutants [2,3] that contaminate the environment as a consequence of anthropogenic or natural activities [4,5]
It has been demonstrated that heavy metals may interfere with physiological systems due to their ability to bind with protein sites [4,6]
Al mean levels were very low in groups 1, 3, 5 and 6, with values significantly higher in group 2 and reaching values even ten times higher in group 4

Summary

Introduction

Heavy metals are considered one of the most critical pollutants [2,3] that contaminate the environment as a consequence of anthropogenic or natural activities (i.e., soil erosion, natural weathering of the earth’s crust, mining, industrial effluents, urban runoff, sewage discharge, use of fertilizers, insect control agents or diseases applied to crops, and atmospheric deposition) [4,5]. Despite their essential role in coenzymes, metals may show toxic effects in excess amounts and persist for a long time in the environment [2,5]. It has been demonstrated that heavy metals may interfere with physiological systems due to their ability to bind with protein sites [4,6]

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