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Biological trace element research2023; doi: 10.1007/s12011-023-03889-5

Horse Whole Blood Trace Elements from Different Sicily Areas: Biomonitoring of Environmental Risk.

Abstract: Horses are excellent bioindicators for the assessment of environmental pollution. The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels and potential bioaccumulation of 28 mineral elements in 75 horse whole blood samples collected from five pollution-prone areas of Sicily, Italy. A direct mercury analyzer (DMA-80) was used for Hg determination, and an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) for all other elements. A one-way ANOVA test, followed by Bonferroni's multiple comparison for post hoc comparison, was applied to assess statistically significant differences between mineral elements and the five experimental groups. The levels of mineral elements in hay and concentrate were below the limits set by Regulation No. 744/2012. The mineral content of whole blood samples was slightly influenced by the region of origin of the horse. p values < 0.05 were statistically meaningful. However, the concentrations of mineral elements in horses' whole blood remained within reference ranges. In conclusion, the present study shows that the mineral content does not represent a toxicological risk for the analyzed horses. In addition, the study areas did not appear to show a high mineral element contamination.
© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
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Publication Date: 2023-10-10 PubMed ID: 37817046PubMed Central: 8388440DOI: 10.1007/s12011-023-03889-5Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

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The study focuses on the use of horses as bioindicators to assess environmental pollution through the examination of mineral content in whole blood samples from five pollution-prone areas in Sicily, Italy.

Research Method and Objective

  • The main goal of this research was to measure and understand the bioaccumulation of 28 different mineral elements found in 75 whole blood samples from horses. These horses hailed from five areas in Sicily, which are known for their susceptibility to pollution.
  • The horses were used as bioindicators, organisms utilized to monitor and predict environmental conditions, especially the effects of pollution and contamination on living beings.

Testing and Data Analysis Tools

  • The research employed a direct mercury analyzer (DMA-80) to determine the concentration of mercury (Hg), while an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) was used for the detection of all other mineral elements.
  • For statistical analysis, a one-way ANOVA test was performed, followed by Bonferroni’s multiple comparison post hoc test to pinpoint any statistically significant differences between the mineral elements in the different blood samples.

Findings

  • Mineral content in the horses’ feed (hay and concentrate) was found to be within the permissible limits set by Regulation No. 744/2012. This suggested that the horses were not exposed to high levels of toxins through their feed.
  • The study identified that the region where the horses originated had a slight influence on the mineral content of the blood samples.
  • Findings where p values were less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. However, it was shown that the mineral content in the horses’ whole blood remained within normal and healthy ranges, indicating a lack of significant contamination.

Conclusions

  • The study concluded that the mineral content in the horses’ blood did not pose a toxicological risk. Furthermore, the areas where the horses originated did not demonstrate high levels of mineral element contamination.
  • This thus suggests that the environment from which these horses hail, although prone to pollution, does not contain excessive toxic minerals impacting horse health.

Cite This Article

APA
Nava V, Licata P, Biondi V, Catone G, Gugliandolo E, Pugliese M, Passantino A, Crupi R, Aragona F. (2023). Horse Whole Blood Trace Elements from Different Sicily Areas: Biomonitoring of Environmental Risk. Biol Trace Elem Res. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-023-03889-5

Publication

Biological trace element research
ISSN: 1559-0720
NlmUniqueID: 7911509
Country: United States
Language: English

Researcher Affiliations

Nava, Vincenzo
  • Department of Veterinary Science, University of Messina, Via Giovanni Palatucci, 98168, Messina, Italy. vnava@unime.it.
Licata, Patrizia
  • Department of Veterinary Science, University of Messina, Via Giovanni Palatucci, 98168, Messina, Italy.
Biondi, Vito
  • Department of Veterinary Science, University of Messina, Via Giovanni Palatucci, 98168, Messina, Italy.
Catone, Giuseppe
  • Department of Veterinary Science, University of Messina, Via Giovanni Palatucci, 98168, Messina, Italy.
Gugliandolo, Enrico
  • Department of Veterinary Science, University of Messina, Via Giovanni Palatucci, 98168, Messina, Italy.
Pugliese, Michela
  • Department of Veterinary Science, University of Messina, Via Giovanni Palatucci, 98168, Messina, Italy.
Passantino, Annamaria
  • Department of Veterinary Science, University of Messina, Via Giovanni Palatucci, 98168, Messina, Italy.
Crupi, Rosalia
  • Department of Veterinary Science, University of Messina, Via Giovanni Palatucci, 98168, Messina, Italy.
Aragona, Francesca
  • Department of Veterinary Science, University of Messina, Via Giovanni Palatucci, 98168, Messina, Italy.

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