Distribution of risk elements in the organism of sheep after industrial intoxication with zinc

Abstract

Diagnostics of experimental zinc intoxication by industrial emission from the zinc and copper factory on the basis of accumulation and distribution of Zn, Cu, Fe, Mo, Se, As, Cd and Pb in the liver, kidneys, spleen, musculature, uterus, ovaries, chorioidea of eye and bones in seven experimental and five control sheep is described. A daily intake of Zn from industrial emission was 6158.07 mg/an experimental animal. The first animals died of zinc intoxication on d 42 and the last one on d 58 of the experiment. The highest concentration of zinc in experimental animals died of zinc intoxication was in the liver dry matter (1167.3 ± 314.1 mg.kg^?1) and in the kidneys (1049.5 ± 283.7 mg.kg^?). Significantly higher Zn content compared with the control sheep was confirmed in the experimental ones in the liver, kidneys, ovaries and eye chorioidea (p < 0.01). The liver, kidneys, uterus were the organs with the highest Cu accumulation. The highest Fe accumulation was found in the spleen, kidneys and liver. Distribution of Mo and Se in the organs analyzed in experimental and control animals was similar. The industrial emission intake from the copper and zinc factory manifested in statistically higher accumulation of As, Cd and Pb in the organism of experimental sheep than in control ones (p < 0.05; methallothionein within the process of resorption, retention and metabolic activity (Kojima et al., 1991). The negative interaction between Zn and Pb is, above all, within the process of absorption (Elsenhans et al., 1978). Comparison of cumulation and distribution of As, Cd and Pb in the organs of experimental and control sheep revealed that in experimental animals the significant differences reflected the intake of these elements from industrial emission. Possibility for interaction relations with Zn, regarding the presence of the other toxic elements, appeared to be secondary.