Medycyna Wet. 66 (5), 323-330, 2010
full text
| Pyrz M. |
| Transfer of selected toxic elements and bioelements from mother to offspring in the example of sheep |
| The aim of the research was to investigate the transfer of heavy metals (lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd)) and their antagonists in the group of essential micro-elements (magnesium (Mg), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn)) from the organism of sheep to the organism of their offspring in milk. The research was carried out in two stages. The control group consisted of sheep with healthy milk glands, while the experimental group consisted of animals presenting subclinical mastitis. In the first stage of the research the distribution of toxic elements, Pb and Cd, administered per os to the mothers was studied by establishing their content in blood and milk. A measurable indicator for evaluating the transfer of toxic substances to milk, in both groups of animals was the content of the elements under investigation in the lambs blood. The concentrations of Mg, Cu and Zn were also ascertained in the biological material collected. The aim of the second stage of the study was to evaluate the transfer of the heavy metals as well as the essential elements from the organism of the mother to the offspring through healthy and pathologically altered milk glands. The mothers were administered a mixture of salts of Cd, Pb, Mg, Zn and Cu, which activated mechanisms of antagonistic and synergetic interaction between the toxic metals and the essential elements, as illustrated by the content of these metals determined in the blood and milk of the mothers and in the blood of the lambs. A proof of a favorable influence of Mg, Cu and Zn on the content of Pb and Cd in the blood and milk of the mothers was a 4-5 times lower content of Pb in the milk of ewes, as compared with the first stage of the research. The per os administration of Mg, Cu and Zn to the ewes showed their statistically significant increase in blood as well as milk. The reduction in the levels of Pb and Cd in the ewes milk, observed in the second stage of the research, was corroborated by their decreased content in the blood of the lambs in both groups of animals. |
| Keywords: lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), magnesium (Mg), milk, blood, mastitis, lambs |