Abstract
The aim of the study was to evaluate the cadmium and zinc content in the kidneys and liver of moose from north-eastern Poland. Animals were divided with respect to their age. The mean concentration of cadmium in the kidneys of moose studied was 11.31 mg kg−1, while in the liver it amounted to 2.68 mg kg−1. Age had a significant effect on the content of cadmium in both organs. In the muscles of most animals studied, the cadmium concentrations were below the detection limit. Elevated concentrations were found in three individuals only. Older animals had over six times higher concentrations of cadmium in both kidneys and liver than younger individuals. The cadmium content in kidneys increased with animals’ age while no such relationship was found for zinc. Although older animals had higher mean concentrations of zinc in kidneys, liver, and muscles, the two age groups did not differ significantly. The mean concentration of zinc in the kidneys of moose studied was 38.83 mg kg−1, while in the liver it amounted to 29.03 mg kg−1. The cadmium concentration in the kidneys was significantly correlated with the cadmium concentration in the liver (r = 0.53, p ≤ 0.01) and with the zinc concentration in the kidneys (r = 0.52, p ≤ 0.01). The data obtained within study correspond with analyses results of the organs of healthy moose in Sweden.
Highlights
Free-living animals play an important role in environmental assessments of pollution by heavy metals like cadmium, which is a toxic element most widespread in the environment
Mean concentrations of cadmium in moose kidneys was 11.31 mg kg−1, and age had a significant effect on the content of cadmium
It was found that the cadmium content in the kidneys and the liver increased with animals’ age
Summary
Free-living animals play an important role in environmental assessments of pollution by heavy metals like cadmium, which is a toxic element most widespread in the environment. It occupies the 8th place in the ranking of the 20 most harmful substances (Thirumoorthy et al 2011). The element takes part in the metabolism of proteins and carbohydrates, in wound healing, in reproduction, in respiration, in visual perception, in proper functioning of the Environ Sci Pollut Res (2017) 24:598–604 kidneys, and in taste perception (Prasad 2002; Skibniewska et al 2013) It is a component of nuclear receptors of steroid and thyroid hormones (Drake and Sky-Peck 1989). The competitive activity of cadmium to zinc plays a key role in the origin of many metabolic disorders (Skibniewska et al 2012)
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