%0 Journal Article
%T Profile of Some Trace Elements in the Liver of Camels, Sheep, and Goats in the Sudan
%A Ibrahim Abdullah Ibrahim
%A Ali Mahmoud Shamat
%A Mohammed Osman Hussien
%A Abdel Rahim Mohammed El Hussein
%J Journal of Veterinary Medicine
%D 2013
%R 10.1155/2013/736497
%X One hundred camels (Camelus dromedaries) and fifty sheep and goats being adult, male, and apparently healthy field animals were studied to provide data regarding the normal values of some hepatic trace elements. Liver samples were collected during postmortem examination, digested, and analyzed for Cu, Zn, Fe, Co, and Mn using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The results showed that the differences in mean liver concentrations of Cu, Zn, Fe, and Co between camels, sheep, and goats were statistically significant ( ). Hepatic Cu, Fe, and Co concentrations were higher in camels than in sheep and goats. All liver samples were adequate for Fe and Co, whereas only camel liver was adequate for Cu. In camels, hepatic Zn concentration was inadequately lower than that in sheep and goats. No difference in Mn concentration was detected between camels, sheep, and goats. All liver samples were inadequate compared to free-ranging herbivores. In camels, significant correlation ( , value = 0.04) was detected between Zn and Co, whereas in sheep significant correlation ( , value = 0.026) was detected between Zn and Mn. No significant correlation between trace elements was detected in goats. 1. Introduction Trace elements are involved as essential parts of many physiological activities such as energy production, enzyme activity, hormone production, collagen formation, vitamin and tissue synthesis, oxygen transport, and other physiological processes related to health growth and reproduction and their deficiency leads to wide variety of pathological consequences such as cardiac conditions in addition to immunological and hormonal dysfunctions and metabolic defects [1]. Trace elements deficiencies have negative impacts on the reproductive efficiency of farm animals. The importance of trace mineral nutrition has been recognized for quite some time; however, recent advances in understanding factors influencing trace mineral requirements and their supplementation potential benefits upon health and productivity are proposed by [2¨C4]. Camels, sheep, and goats are virtually the main source of subsistence for most of the people inhabiting the environmental region loosely referred to as arid and semiarid lands (ASAL) of the Sudan. A major constraint to animal production is the occasional drought; the long dry season, absence of legumes in natural pasture and rapid decline of forage quality of native grasses as the rainy season progresses, and high prevalence of endemic and metabolic diseases are factors contributing directly to low animal production. The traditionally raised
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jvm/2013/736497/