ARSENIC, CADMIUM AND LEAD CONTENTS OF MEAT (KIDNEY, LIVER, AND MUSCLE) SOURCED FROM FIVE ANIMALS IN ZARIA METROPOLIS, NIGERIA

Abstract

Toxicity from heavy metals is among the silent killers, especially among the sub-Saharan African communities due
to gradual exposure to small quantities in their food particularly proteins due to bioaccumulation and lack of
standard measures to regulate the levels of these metals in meat consumed. This study aimed to evaluate the
concentrations of bio-accumulative toxic metals; arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) in meat samples. Fresh
samples of meat (kidney, liver, and muscle) of beef, sheep, goat, chicken, and rabbit were collected within Zaria
Metropolis, size reduced into small pieces and dried in the hot air oven. Wet digestion of the samples was made
using mixtures of nitric acid, perchloric acid, and sulphuric acid respectively, and the elemental analysis was made
by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The results declared that concentrations range of these toxic metals in the
kidney, liver, and muscle of beef, chicken, goat, rabbit, and sheep are as follows: As 9.2μg/g±0.11 as found in rabbit
kidney, Cd; 0.004μg/g to 1.06μg/g±0.26, Pb; 0.07μg/g to 0.21μg/g±0.04. The levels of these metals in these tissues
are in the order of; As>Cd>Pb. The concentrations of As and Cd as found in some tissues were found to be above
the permissible limits set by the FAO/WHO, while that of Pb was found to be within the permissible limit across all
the tissues analyzed. The concentrations vary significantly when compared with the respective animals’ tissues with
the highest concentration of As in the rabbit kidney and the lowest concentration of Cd in the goat muscle.