Determination of Heavy Metals in the Liver of Dairy Cows and the Risk to their Health

Heavy metals are characterized by their high atomic mass and toxicity to living organisms. This study aimed to investigate the presence of heavy metals in the livers of slaughtered dairy cows and to discuss their possible effects on animal health. In the study, 50 Holstein dairy cows were used. After slaughtering, samples of 4 X 10 g were taken from the liver of the animals for heavy metal analysis. All samples were analyzed for the presence of arsenic (As), aluminum (Al), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and nickel (Ni) using the ICP-OES device. Rumen acidosis and ovarian diseases were found to be the most common diseases in 20 and 13 animals, respectively. None of the samples contained Ni. On average, Al was detected at 4.60±8.71 ppm, as at 0.39±0.11 ppm, Hg at 0.41±0.29 ppm and Pb at 0.04±0.13 ppm. Based on the total number of animals, the following prevalence was calculated: 72% for Al, 100% for As, 88% for Hg, 0% for Ni, and 10% for Pb. The study showed that the average as content was in a toxic range. In 28% of the samples, the Al value was categorized as toxic to animal health. The average Hg values, on the other hand, were above the acceptable limits for human health. In summary, the prevalence of toxic heavy metals Al, As and Hg in Holstein livers was quite high.