scholarly journals Macromineral and trace element supply in sheep and goats in Austria

2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (No. 2) ◽  
pp. 62-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Schweinzer ◽  
M. Iwersen ◽  
M. Drillich ◽  
T. Wittek ◽  
A. Tichy ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to determine the supply of 25 different macrominerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium) and trace elements (aluminium, arsenic, barium, boron, cadmium, cobalt, copper, iron, lithium, lead, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, silicon, strontium, sulphur, thallium, tin, titanium, uranium, zinc), and to ascertain the presence of any over- or undersupplies. As a second objective, we undertook a comparison of our results with existing reference values from selected literature and from laboratory analyses, with the aim of classifying the obtained results into the following categories: ‘deficiency’, ‘adequate’ and ‘oversupply’. For the study, 16 sheep and four goat farms located in the Austrian states of Upper Austria (n = 12), Carinthia (n = 6) and Vorarlberg (n = 2) were selected. From every farm, five serum blood samples were obtained by puncturing the vena jugularis to evaluate the macromineral and trace element status in clinically sound female sheep (n = 80; 12 different breeds) and female goats (n = 20; Saanen goats, Boer goats). The animals were kept for dairy farming (milking and/or meat production) or for landscaping. The mean age of both sheep and goats was 3.1 years (sheep: min. 0.5, max. 10; goats: min. 1, max. 5); 44% of the studied animals were lactating and 22% were pregnant at the time of sampling. The serum blood samples were sent to a laboratory and analysed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. In summary, the supply with macrominerals and trace elements compared with reference values from the laboratory was adequate for As, Ca, Fe and Mg in sheep and for As, Ca, Cu, K, Mg and Se in goats. Although all animals in our study were examined for clinical signs of disease by the local veterinarian, oversupplies in sheep for the elements K and Mo and in goats for Fe as well as undersupplies in sheep and goats for Zn could be found in the serum of the studied animals.

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e10082
Author(s):  
Jamin G. Wieringa ◽  
Juliet Nagel ◽  
David M. Nelson ◽  
Bryan C. Carstens ◽  
H. Lisle Gibbs

The expansion of the wind energy industry has had benefits in terms of increased renewable energy production but has also led to increased mortality of migratory bats due to interactions with wind turbines. A key question that could guide bat-related management activities is identifying the geographic origin of bats killed at wind-energy facilities. Generating this information requires developing new methods for identifying the geographic sources of individual bats. Here we explore the viability of assigning geographic origin using trace element analyses of fur to infer the summer molting location of eastern red bats (Lasiurus borealis). Our approach is based on the idea that the concentration of trace elements in bat fur is related through the food chain to the amount of trace elements present in the soil, which varies across large geographic scales. Specifically, we used inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry to determine the concentration of fourteen trace elements in fur of 126 known-origin eastern red bats to generate a basemap for assignment throughout the range of this species in eastern North America. We then compared this map to publicly available soil trace element concentrations for the U.S. and Canada, used a probabilistic framework to generate likelihood-of-origin maps for each bat, and assessed how well trace element profiles predicted the origins of these individuals. Overall, our results suggest that trace elements allow successful assignment of individual bats 80% of the time while reducing probable locations in half. Our study supports the use of trace elements to identify the geographic origin of eastern red and perhaps other migratory bats, particularly when combined with data from other biomarkers such as genetic and stable isotope data.


Author(s):  
Sayyed Mohammad Ali Noori ◽  
Mohammad Hashemi ◽  
Sajjad Ghasemi

Abstract: Saffron is one of the most expensive spices in the world, and its popularity as a tasty food additive is spreading rapidly through many cultures and cuisines. Minerals and heavy metals are minor components found in saffron, which play a key role in the identification of the geographical origin, quality control, and food traceability, while they also affect human health. The chemical elements in saffron are measured using various analytical methods, such as techniques based on spectrometry or spectroscopy, including atomic emission spectrometry, atomic absorption spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The present study aimed to review the published articles about heavy metals and minerals in saffron across the world. To date, 64 chemical elements have been found in different types of saffron, which could be divided into three groups of macro-elements, trace elements, and heavy metals (trace elements with a lower gravity/greater than five times that of water and other inorganic sources). Furthermore, the chemical elements in the saffron samples of different countries have a wide range of concentrations. These differences may be affected by geographical condition such as physicochemical properties of the soil, weather and other environmental conditions like saffron cultivation and its genotype.


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