Heavy Metals Accumulation in Different Organs of Poultry and Hypothetical Risk Analysis: Evidence from Experimental Feeding with Assorted Metal Feed

Abstract

The study evaluated the growth performance of experimental chickens and concentration of heavy metals accumulated in their various organs such as muscle, bone, liver, kidney and lung. Eight groups of chickens C0 to C7 were fed diets containing Pb, Cr and Cd in different amounts and concentrations. Pb and Cd were absent in the feed given to C0 group chickens. But in 7 experimental groups C1 to C7 the range of each metal was found between 0.72 ± 0.20 to 46.14 ± 21.20 mgkg-1. Cr was measured at 0.88 ± 0.47mgkg-1 in group C0 whereas the concentration range of this metal in C1 and C7 was (1.77 ± 0.91–45.90 ± 20.08) mgkg-1. Cd concentrations ranged from 0.90 ± 0.53 mgkg-1 to 40.46 ± 12.25mgkg-1 in groups C1 to C7. No consistent variation in chicken feed intake rate was observed with increasing concentration of HMs. At the end of experiment, it was observed that the growth performance of chickens decreased from group C0 to C7. The study showed that feed conversion ratio (FCR) increased gradually from group C0 to C7. Bone has the highest concentrations of Pb and Cd compared to other organs. However, the highest amount of Cr was found in the liver. Heavy metal concentrations were progressively increased in all groups by increasing concentrations of the same metal in feed. Nevertheless, in histological section, other organs than brain such as liver, kidney, intestine, skin and lung were more or less affected by heavy metal consumption. Hypothetical health risk analysis suggested that THQ and TR values were increasing with increasing HM concentration.