Appraisal of iron accumulation in soil, forages, and blood plasma of sheep and goats: a case study in different districts of Punjab, Pakistan.

Minerals are essential for ruminants affecting significantly the production of grazing livestock. Iron level in forages, soil, and blood plasma of the small ruminants (goat and sheep) was investigated in three districts of Punjab. Atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used to determine the concentration of iron in collected samples. The results revealed that the mean Fe concentrations in soil of districts Sargodha, Mianwali, and Bhakhar were significantly varied and ranged from 21.85 to 23.78, 28.45 to 31.2, and 18.079 to 24.33 mg/kg, respectively. The Fe level in soil of Mianwali significantly varied and was higher than Sargodha and Bhakkar. The mean Fe concentration in forages which were used for feeding purpose were significantly varied and found between 10.95-14.49, 23.63-25.65, and 6.616-9.45 mg/kg for Sargodha, Mianwali, and Bhakhar, respectively. The mean Fe concentrations in blood plasma of goat which consumed the contaminated forages were 8.5026-11.763 mg/L in district Sargodha, 19.77-20.19 mg/L in Mianwali, and 5.508-5.858mg/L in Bhakkar. In blood plasma of sheep, the residual levels of Fe in districts Sargodha, Mianwali, and Bhakhar were ranged from 9.987 to 12.455, 15.8 to 19.785, and 3.425 to 6.383 mg/L, respectively. This study provides the data of metals effected by different sites and also their mobility from low to higher trophic level which enables us to study the iron toxicity in different trophic levels, and we recommend different safe limits and treatment in case of low and high metal profile.

Bioaccumulation of cadmium in different genotypes of wheat crops irrigated with different sources of water in agricultural regions.

The study was carried out to evaluate the health risks associated with accumulation of cadmium in the different genotypes of wheat, grown in agricultural regions of Punjab, Pakistan. Five genotypes irrigated with three varied water sources were selected randomly from each region. Among all sources of water, types of soil, and grain samples, the cadmium (Cd) quantities were found (2.24-2.82 mg/L, 1.75-4.16 mg/kg, 0.86-1.90, respectively), exceeding the maximum permissible limits (0.01 mg/L, 1.1 mg/kg, 0.2 mg/kg, respectively) described by FAO/WHO. The pollution load index (PLI) exhibited by all of the samples was higher than 1.00, the permissible limit; however, other factors including bioaccumulation, translocation, bio-concentration, daily intake, and enrichment values of Cd were less than 1.00. Moreover, the health risk index for cadmium in all types of wheat grain samples was less than 1.00. The study concluded that the continuous use of wastewater resources may lead to the accumulation of cadmium in the vital body organs that may cause severe health hazards.

Health risk assessment through determining bioaccumulation of iron in forages grown in soil irrigated with city effluent.

The irrigation with sewage water can be useful if it has no negative effects on food crop yield, soil pollution, and health of humans. However, it includes various types of contaminants like heavy metals that pollute the soil and crops. In this regard, the aim of this study was to evaluate the possible health risks of heavy metals in forages. Forages both of summer and winter were grown with different water treatments (sewage water and tap water) in Department of Botany, University of Sargodha. The concentration of iron (Fe) in water, soil, and plant samples was determined. The Fe values in tap and sewage water were observed as 0.090 and 0.115 mg/L, respectively. The highest mean concentration of Fe was 9.608 mg/kg in the soil where Trifolium alexandrinum is grown, and the lowest mean concentration was 0.154 mg/kg which occurred in the soil where Trifolium resupinatum is grown in winter. The maximum mean concentration of Fe in the root samples of plants was observed as 2.483 mg/kg in Pennisetum typhoideum, and the minimum mean concentration occurred as 0.390 mg/kg in Zea mays grown in summer. The maximum bioconcentration factor value of Fe was observed for T. resupinatum (5.259) grown in winter. The maximum pollution load index value of Fe was observed for T. alexandrinum (0.1688). The maximum value of daily intake of metals was observed as 0.0731 in Medicago sativa, and the maximum health risk index value was determined as 0.1091 in P. typhoideum.