Light and scanning electron microscopic characterization of the Egyptian buffalo hair in relation to age with analysis by SEM‐EDX

Abstract

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to demonstrate a relationship between the microstructure and measurements of Egyptian buffalo hair and age. The buffalo studied ranged in age from young to premature to adult (3–8 months, 1.5–3, 4–6, and 8–10 years). The hair was collected from the animals' withers. Cuticle elements were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), light microscopy, and energy‐dispersive X‐ray (EDX) analysis. Hair shaft diameter increased with age, according to SEM and light microscopy measurements. The values of shaft diameter obtained by SEM of the same animal were 64%–67% of the values obtained by light microscopy due to shrinkage of the hair during the drying process. Additional microscopy measurements revealed that the width of the cortex and medulla increased with age, while the width of the cuticle decreased slightly. The medulla index of four different age groups ranged from 0.56 to 0.61 μm. The average distance between successive scale values increased from 4.83 μm in the young group to 8.86 μm between the ages of 8 and 10 years. The scale pattern had a distinct personality at each stage of age. The hair medulla was in the center and consisted of a mesh‐like structure with large pores divided into smaller pores by septa. The cortex was a bundle of fibers that wrapped around the medulla. Light microscopy revealed small oval granules and large streak‐like granules in the cortex. EDX spectra revealed that carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen were shown to be more abundant in all age groups of buffalo. In buffalo hair, oxygen was the second most abundant element after carbon. The carbon mass in the examined samples decreased slightly with age (42.31%, 39.18%, 38.88%, and 38.49%), while oxygen increased with age. We concluded that hair measurements varied with age, scale microstructure, and elements, so we estimated buffalo animals' ages up to 10 years.Highlights The goal was to show a link between the microstructure and measurements of Egyptian buffalo hair and age. Hair shaft diameter increased with age, according to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy measurements. The hair shaft diameter obtained by light microscopy was higher than that obtained by scanning electron microscopy of the same animal; we hypothesized that the difference in hair shaft diameter measured by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy of the same animal was due to the shrinkage of the hair during the drying process. The width of the cortex and medulla increased with age, while the width of the cuticle decreased slightly. The average distance between successive scale values increased from 4.83 μm in the young group to 8.86 μm between 8 and 10 years old. At each stage of age, the scale pattern had a distinct personality. Carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen were found to be more abundant in the hair of buffalo of all ages and were detected using energy‐dispersive X‐ray (EDX) spectra. After carbon, oxygen was the second most abundant element in buffalo hair. The carbon mass in the samples studied decreased slightly with age, while the oxygen mass increased. Hair measurements varied according to age, scale microstructure, and elements.