Concentration of Selected Essential and Toxic Trace Elements in Horse Hair as an Important Tool for the Monitoring of Animal Exposure and Health.
Authors: Cygan-Szczegielniak Dorota, Stasiak Karolina
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary Researchers in Poland measured concentrations of essential minerals (zinc, copper) and toxic metals (lead, cadmium) in hair samples from 60 sports and recreational horses, alongside analysis of oats used in their feed, to establish whether hair composition could serve as a practical biomonitoring tool for equine exposure and health status. Using electrochemical analysis for elemental detection and near-infrared spectroscopy for feed composition, they identified element concentrations ranging from 153.56–185.79 mg·kg⁻¹ for zinc, 6.10–11.99 mg·kg⁻¹ for copper, 0.578–0.813 mg·kg⁻¹ for lead, and 0.011–0.015 mg·kg⁻¹ for cadmium in hair dry weight, with lead showing the most variable results between individual horses. Notably, they found negative correlations between several mineral pairs in hair (zinc-copper and cadmium-copper particularly), whilst the same elements in feed showed different interaction patterns, suggesting the horse's digestive system and metabolism actively regulate absorption and tissue deposition rather than passively reflecting dietary levels. For practitioners, these findings suggest that hair analysis could become a valuable non-invasive diagnostic tool for assessing systemic trace element status and heavy metal burden, though the complex relationships between feed intake and hair concentration mean results require careful interpretation alongside clinical assessment and dietary history.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Hair analysis can be used as a practical, non-invasive monitoring tool to assess chronic heavy metal exposure and nutritional status in sport and leisure horses
- •Feed composition significantly influences elemental concentrations in hair; oat-based diets should be monitored for heavy metal content, particularly Cu and Pb
- •Competitive interactions exist between trace elements; imbalances detected in hair may indicate feed quality issues or metabolic concerns warranting dietary review
Key Findings
- •Horse hair concentrations ranged from 153.56–185.79 mg·kg⁻¹ for Zn, 6.10–11.99 mg·kg⁻¹ for Cu, 0.578–0.813 mg·kg⁻¹ for Pb, and 0.011–0.015 mg·kg⁻¹ for Cd
- •Significant negative correlations found in hair for Zn-Cu (r = -0.539) and Cd-Cu (r = -0.676)
- •Feed analysis showed positive correlations for Cu-Pb (r = 0.723) and Zn-Cd (r = 0.714)
- •Hair provides a useful non-invasive matrix for monitoring long-term trace element exposure in horses