Assessment of Heavy Metals in the Blood and Some Selected Entrails of Cows, Goat and Pigs Slaughtered at Wurukum Abattoir, Makurdi-Nigeria

摘要

The study determined heavy metal levels in selected tissues and organs of these animals to sensitize the people on the danger/safety of the consumption of their meat. A cross-sectional study design with laboratory analysis component was adopted. Atomic Absorption spectrometer, buck scientific 2010 model was used to assess the residual level of some heavy metals; Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb in the blood and some selected entrails (liver, kidney, chitterlings and stomach) of cow, native goat, non native goat and pig slaughtered at Wurukum abattoir. Mean levels of residual Cr (mg/L) in the blood of the studied animals ranged from 0.07 to 0.39, 0.07 to 0.33, 0.03 to 0.20 and 0.03 to 0.19 respectively for the list above. Most of these values were found to be above the 0.1 mg/L permissible limit set by FAO/WHO for Cr in the meat of livestock animals. Similar trends were observed with the residual heavy metal levels in the entrails of cow where the Cd and Cr levels (mg/L) ranged from 0.01 to 0.03 and 0.27 to 0.57 respectively in the liver, in the kidney, their levels (mg/L) ranged from 0.03 to 0.04 and 0.15 to 0.35 respectively, while in the chitterlings, the Cd level was 0.03 and Cr ranged from 0.19 to 0.32, also in the tripe, the Cd concentration ranged from 0.20 to 0.36. In the entrails of native goat the residual level of Cd was 0.01 and Cr level ranged from 0.04 to 0.26 in the liver; the residual level of Cd and Cr ranged are from 0.01 to 0.04 and 0.06 to 0.1 respectively in the kidney and in the chitterlings, (0.01 to 0.02 and 0.29 to 0.39) mg/L respectively; in the paunch the Cd residual level was 0.01 while Cr ranged from 0.09 to 0.12 mg/L. In the entrails of non native goat: the residual level of Cd and Cr residual level ranged from 0.02 to 0.31 and 0.11 to 0.35 respectively in the liver; in the kidney it was (0.22 to 0.23 and 0.19 to 0.40) mg/L respectively; chitterlings, Cr residual level (0.13 to 0.47) mg/L; while in the paunch (0.01 to 0.04 and 0.22 to 0.30) mg/L Cd and Cr respectively. In the entrails of pig: the residual levels of Cd was 0.02 and Cr ranged from 0.19 to 0.29 respectively in the liver; Cd residual level was 0.06 and Cr level (0.11 to 0.33) in the kidney; while in chitterlings and maw, Cr level ranged from 0.10 to 0.19, and from 0.17 to 0.26 mg/L respectively. Cr residues were higher in all of the selected entrails of the animals under study than the 0.1 mg/kg permissible limit set by FAO/WHO for Cr in the meat of livestock animals while Cd residues in all the selected entrails of the various animals collected in this study were within the 0.5 mg/kg permissible limit.