The Influence of Administration of Different Doses of Arginine and Lysine Coupled with Cadmium in the Lactating Ewes on the Cadmium Concentration in Milk

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic heavy element. Increases in Cd level might cause many disorders, so it is important to control the amount of this heavy metal in both animals and humans. In mammary gland, the mechanism of Cd uptake is not quite clear. The purpose of this study was to determine whether Cd can pass through the mammary epithelial cell into milk by co-transport system with amino acid in the lactating ewes. This experimental research included 54 lactating ewes which were collected from Department of State Agriculture Organization of Tehran province and were allocated into nine groups as follows: groups which received inorganic form as cadmium chloride (1, 2 and 4 mg kg−1 of B.W.) and groups which received organic Cd with different doses of arginine or lysine (1, 2 and 4 mg kg−1 of B.W.) in chelate form. Milk samples were taken 30 min before and 6 h after intravenous injection of Cd preparations. Cd concentration in milk was measured using the flame atomic absorption spectrometric method. There are no significant differences between groups in milk’s Cd concentration before administration of inorganic or organic Cd. Data analysis showed that administration of inorganic Cd caused a significant increase in Cd concentration in the milk (p < 0.001). Also, administration of arginine or lysine with Cd in chelate form caused a significant increase in Cd concentration of milk compared to inorganic Cd in dose-dependent manner (p < 0.001). According to our results, administration of different forms of Cd influenced the Cd concentration in milk.