Comparing levels of certain heavy metals and minerals and antioxidative metabolism in cows raised near and away from highways

Abstract

The scope of this study was to investigate the concentrations of certain heavy metals, mineral levels, and antioxidativemetabolism in cows raised near (300 m) and away from highways (2.5 km) in Çankırı Province. For this purpose, blood samples werecollected from 100 cows (aged 3 5 years) raised near and away from highways in this province. Concentrations of certain heavy metalsand minerals in the serum were analyzed on an ICP-MS device. Additionally, lipid peroxidation product malondialdehyde (MDA) inthe plasma and antioxidative defense system indicators, erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities, weremeasured with a spectrophotometer. As a result, levels of certain heavy metals and minerals and antioxidative status were determined incows raised near and away from highways. Aluminum, iron, nickel, and zinc levels in the cows raised near highways were signifcantlydiferent from those of the cows raised away from highways. Furthermore, MDA concentrations and SOD activities were signifcantlydiferent between the two groups. It is concluded that monitoring the concentration of these heavy metals periodically may be useful toincrease the productivity of cows.