Regional and Seasonal Variability of Mineral Patterns in Some Organs of Slaughtered One-Humped Camels [Camelus dromedarius] from Saudi Arabia

Abdelrahman M.M. Alhidary I.A. Alobre M.M. Matar A.M. Alharthi A.S. Faye B. Aljumaah R.S.
December 2022 MDPI

Animals
2022 #12 Issue 23

Camel products are receiving great interest worldwide because of their high functional properties and nutritive values. Therefore, this study was focused on the variation of copper [Cu], zinc [Zn], manganese [Mn], selenium [Se], iron [Fe], iodine [I], and some heavy metals, cobalt [Co], lead [Pb], and cadmium [Cd], in the blood and tissues of slaughtered camels from five regions in Saudi Arabia [SA] during the summer and winter seasons, because environmental factors vary from region to region. Whole blood, meat, liver, rumen fluid, and rumen tissues were collected from the slaughterhouse in each region during the two seasons. Moreover, samples were prepared and analyzed for trace mineral and heavy metal concentrations using ICP-MS. The data were statistically analyzed as part of a complete randomized design and correlation analysis for season and location using SAS. The findings revealed a pattern in the minerals, with Ca being the only mineral that was unrelated to other minerals in the liver. For lead and cadmium, our mean value in liver [0.40 µg/g] was below the limit of the EU standard for cadmium [0.50 µg/g], while in meat and liver, lead contents [1.62 µg/g and 2.57 µg/g, respectively] were above the limit of the EU standard [0.10 and 0.20 µg/g, respectively]. For meat, the significantly highest positive correlations were observed between P and Mg [R² = 0.928], Fe and Mn [R² = 0.860], and Co and Mn [R² = 0.821]. For rumen tissues, P and Mg were highly correlated [R² = 0.958] as well as Zn and Mg [R² = 0.857], Zn and P [R² = 0.836], and Fe and Ca [R² = 0.802]. As a result, a region and season reflect variations in mineral concentrations in SA during the summer and winter seasons. Further intensive research is needed to investigate the minerals’ biological mechanisms in camels under different environmental conditions.

camels , elements , heavy metals , regions , season , tissues

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Department of Animal Production, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11362, Saudi Arabia
CIRAD-ES, UMR SELMET, Campus International de Baillarguet, Montpellier, 34398, France
Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Kazakh National University Al-Farabi, Almaty, 050013, Kazakhstan

Department of Animal Production
CIRAD-ES
Department of Biotechnology

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