Bioaccumulation of Mineral Elements in Different Biological Substrates of Athletic Horse from Messina, Italy.
Authors: Fazio Francesco, Gugliandolo Enrico, Nava Vincenzo, Piccione Giuseppe, Giannetto Claudia, Licata Patrizia
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary Researchers from Italy assessed trace element accumulation in athletic horses residing in an industrialised region of Sicily, measuring vanadium, chromium, cobalt, copper, zinc, cadmium, lead and bismuth across multiple biological substrates—whole blood, serum, mane and tail hair—alongside environmental sources including hay, concentrate and water. Using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), the team identified significant variations in mineral concentrations between substrates, with notable findings including negative correlation between chromium in whole blood versus serum, positive correlations for cadmium and bismuth across blood compartments, and differential distribution patterns for vanadium, chromium and lead between hair and blood samples. The heterogeneous distribution of trace elements throughout equine tissues indicates that single substrate testing may not provide a complete picture of systemic mineral status or environmental exposure. For equine practitioners, these findings underscore the importance of selecting appropriate sampling methods when investigating trace element metabolism in performance horses—hair analysis and blood work capture different physiological information—and suggest that environmental contamination in industrial areas warrants closer monitoring of forage quality and water sources as potential exposure routes.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Hair samples (tail and mane) may serve as non-invasive biomonitors for certain trace elements, but correlations with blood levels are inconsistent and element-dependent
- •Horses in industrial areas require monitoring of multiple biological matrices rather than single blood samples, as different substrates reflect different exposure and accumulation patterns
- •Nutritional management should account for bioavailability differences of minerals across tissues when addressing potential contamination or supplementation in at-risk geographical regions
Key Findings
- •Trace element concentrations (V, Cr, Co, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, Bi) showed statistically significant differences across biological substrates (whole blood, serum, tail, mane)
- •Chromium in whole blood was negatively correlated with serum concentrations, while cadmium and bismuth showed positive correlations between whole blood and serum
- •Vanadium, chromium, and lead in tail samples were negatively correlated with serum and whole blood, whereas cadmium showed positive correlation between tail and serum
- •Minerals demonstrated non-homogenous distribution throughout the organism with substrate-specific accumulation patterns