Chronische orale Cadmiumbelastungen bei Schafen Toxikologische und pathomorphologische Untersuchungen1

Effect of Cadmium in Feed on Organs and Meat Colour of Growing Pigs

One hundred and ninety-two barrows (Duroc x Landrace x Yorkshire, initial weight 27.7 kg) were used to investigate the effects of cadmium in feed on the function of selected organs and meat colour of growing pigs. The pigs were randomly allocated into four different treatments. Each treatment included three replications with 16 pigs per replicate. The animals were fed corn-soybean basal diet and supplemented with 0, 0.5, 5.0, 10.0 mg/kg cadmium (as CdCl(2)), respectively. The feeding trial ended when the average body weight of the pigs reach 90 kg. The results showed that, compared with controls, addition of 10 mg/kg cadmium to the diet resulted in significant elevations of relative weight of liver and spleen by 18.3% (p<0.05) and 19.7% (p<0.05) respectively, and of serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT) and glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) activities by 17.8% (p<0.05) and 27.4% (p<0.05) respectively; and significant decreases of Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase activity in the liver by 24.6% (p<0.05), the redness of longissimus dorsi by 26.6% (p<0.05) and 24.9% (p<0.05) at 0.75 h and 16 h post mortem, respectively, and of the myoglobin content of longissimus dorsi by 19.4% (p<0.05). No changes were found in these indices above when the pigs were fed the diet supplied with 0.5 or 5 mg/kg cadmium (p>0.05), nor in renal functions among cadmium-treatment treatments (p>0.05) as indicated is the activities of urinary N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and the content of urinary protein. The study indicated the adverse effects of 10 mg/kg cadmium in feed on liver functions and meat colour of growing pigs.

Meta-analysis of feeding trials investigating cadmium accumulation in the livers and kidneys of sheep

Human cadmium intake derives mainly from food sources, and cadmium can be present in high concentrations in some offal. A meta-analysis using random effects modeling was carried out to integrate the results of 21 controlled randomized trials in which sheep were fed diets with elevated cadmium levels and cadmium concentrations in their livers and kidneys were recorded after slaughter. Resulting predictions of cadmium accumulation in sheep are applicable to a broad set of exposure situations allowing the critical examination of cadmium in the human food chain. The product of the cadmium concentration in the feed and the duration of exposure to that feed were significant predictors of the cadmium concentration in livers and kidneys. The predominantly organic rather than inorganic form of cadmium in the feed further increased accumulation. Other variables (dry matter intake, the vehicle of the elevated cadmium in the diet, animal age, weight, and sex) were not significant. As a result, the prime measure to decrease the risk of cadmium from animal origin adversely affecting human health should be restricting the animals' cumulative cadmium intake. It is suggested that this might be achieved by preventing the livers and kidneys of older animals from entering the human food chain.