RESUMEN
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of exposure of cattle to low levels of environmental pollution on trace metal metabolism. The assessment of heavy metal concentrations in blood samples is essential to evaluate the potential effects of pollutants on cattle production and to measure the uptake of pollutants by animals. For this purpose, cattle raised in villages at varying distances to the center of the Kars province were sampled for blood, and heavy metal concentrations were measured in the extracted sera. In total 150 blood samples were collected from 4-to 5-year-old cattle from 15 regions. Sera were extracted from the blood samples from the selected foci and analyzed with an inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) device for essential (Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Zn, Se, V) and non-essential (Pb, Cd and Hg, As, Al, Sn) heavy metals. Heavy metals were detected in the serum samples in the following order: Sn > Fe > Al > Zn > Cu > Pb > Cr > As > V > Ni > Mn > Hg. A confidence interval of 95% was used to evaluate all tests. Differences between the villages were insignificant for the Cu, Pb, Cd, Hg, Se, Al, Co concentrations (p > 0.05), whereas differences between the villages were significant for the Fe, As, Ni, Mn (p < 0.05), Zn, Cr (p < 0.01), V and Sn (p < 0.001) concentrations. The results of this study show that heavy metals detected in bovine sera from the sampling area do not exceed the maximum permissible limits, suggesting limited exposure to heavy metals and no associated health risk to animals in the region.