Content of Heavy Metals in Poultry and Local (Free Range) Chickens raised within Gwagwalada Area Council of Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

The content of heavy metals in poultry and local (free range) chickens raised within Gwagwalada Area Council of Abuja, Nigeria was investigated. The poultry chickens were obtained from poultry farms while the local (free range) chickens were bought from the natives within the study area. Samples were prepared by wet digestion method using nitric acid and the heavy metals determined by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (FAAS). The mean concentration (μg/g dry weight) of heavy metals in the Poultry chickens were 3.68 ± 0.86, 0.58 ± 0.36, 0.78 ± 0.02, 4.79 ± 1.27, 77.40 ± 66.44, 2.09 ± 0.54, 1.44 ± 0.82 and 68.99 ± 23.90 for Pb, Cd, Ni, Cu, Fe, Co, Mn and Zn respectively. Also the heavy metal contents in the local chickens were 2.01 ± 1.25, ND, 1.07 ± 0.30, 3.00 ± 1.24, 108.88 ± 73.41, 1.36 ± 0.46, 13.44 ± 6.14 and 75.49 ± 24.02 μg/g dry weight for Pb, Cd, Ni, Cu, Fe, Co, Mn and Zn respectively. A Pearson correlation analysis on the heavy metals in the chicken meat revealed positive strong correlations between Zn/Fe (r = 0.867), Zn/Mn (0.764), Zn/Cu (r = 0.591), Mn/Cu (r = 0.657) and Fe/Cu (r = 0.598) at p < 0.01 significant level. This is not unusual as Fe, Cu, Mn and Zn are essential elements and constitute part of expected components of the chicken. The human risk assessment conducted on the chicken samples revealed that Estimated Daily Intake (EDI) and Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) were in the safe levels, indicating that the exposure of adult population to individual heavy metals through consumption of poultry and local (free range) chickens will not pose adverse health effects. However, the Hazard Index (HI) value for the poultry chicken is suggestive of potential adverse health effect on the consumers. Also, the HI value of local (free range) chickens cannot be ignored because the accumulation of heavy metals in the human body over time can cause serious health effects.

Sources and Health Risks of Inorganic Toxicants in Gallus Gallus Domesticus (Broilers) in Uyo, Nigeria

“…Levels of Cu in feeds examined varied from 1.045 to 1.183mgkg -1 , this is higher than 0.04 -1.21 µg/ml reported by Suleiman et al (2015). Concentrations of Fe ranged from 41.382 to 44.260 mgkg -1 and are lower than 164.81 -283.09 μg/g reported by Igwemmar et al (2022). Mn in the feeds investigated ranged from 0.005 to 0.007 mgkg -1 .…”

“…Concentrations of Zn in the studied poultry feeds varied from 1.934 to 2.140mgkg -1 . The reported range is lower than 49.75 -85.82 mgkg -1 obtained in poultry feeds by Igwemmar et al (2022). Generally, the mean concentrations of all the metals examined in poultry feeds in Table 1 are below their recommended limits by FAO/WHO (2000).…”

“…During the processing of poultry feeds, mineral elements such as Cu, Fe, Mn, Se, and Zn are added as supplements (Suleiman et al, 2015;Lv et al, 2023). These supplements are applied for proper growth and development of the birds (M'Sadeq et al, 2018;Igwemmar and Kakulu 2022). They improve the development and quality of eggs produced (Chowdhury et al, 2021).…”