ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Lead Toxicity Evaluation in Rams Grazing
on Pasture during Autumn and Winter:
A Case Study
Zafar Iqbal Khan1, Muhammad Ashraf2,3, Kafeel Ahmad1, Alireza Bayat4,
Muhammad Khalid Mukhtar1, Syed Ali Hassan Naqvi1, Rab Nawaz1,
Mian Jahan Zaib1, Muneeba Shaheen1
More details
Hide details
1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan
2Department of Botany, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
3Department of Botany and Microbiology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
4Animal Production Research, MTT Agrifood Research Finland, FI-31600, Jokioinen, Finland
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2012;21(5):1257-1260
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
A study was conducted to appraise the levels of lead (Pb) in soils, pastures, and plasma of 20 rams raised
in a farm alleged to have metal contamination. Samples of soil, pasture, and ram blood were taken four times
with a one-month interval during autumn and winter, from October to January, and analyzed for Pb by atomic
absorption spectroscopy. Considerable statistically significant differences were found in soil, pasture, and
plasma Pb contents as a function of sampling time. The mean Pb values in soil ranged from 17.9 to 28.8 mg/kg,
in forage from 9.92 to 16.4 mg/kg, and in plasma from 0.058 to 0.086 mg/l with a steady dwindle with sampling
times. Forage Pb concentrations found in the present study were higher than the decisive Pb level for
animals, but lower than the toxic limits for forage, signifying no anticipation of toxicity present in rams grazing
therein. A significant positive correlation also was found between soil and forage and between forage and
blood plasma Pb during this study. Overall, soil, forage, and rams contained tolerable amounts of Pb, so there
is no risk of Pb toxicity presently to the rams being reared at the animal farm under study.