A Study of Some Trace Minerals Status in Serum of Sick Animals

Abstract

Aim: The present study was carried out with the main objective to investigate the serum copper, zinc and magnesium status in sick animals of different species (goat, sheep and cattle) Materials and Methods: Nineteen animals of different species (Goats, sheep and cattle) with clinical signs of sickness were selected randomly from Sharg ALneel Hospital - Elseleit , East Nile- Khartoum State. Serum minerals were estimated by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Results: The mean serum Cu concentrations in goat, sheep and cattle were (2.014 ± 0.23, 2.163± 0.30 and 1.950 ± 0.24 mg/L) respectively. The mean serum Zn concentrations in goat, sheep and cattle were (0.264 ± 0.05, 0.262 ± 0.04 and 0.261 ± 0 .03 mg/L) respectively, whereas the mean serum Mg concentrations in goat, sheep and cattle were 1.407 ± 0 .13b , 1.751 ± 0.10a and 1.894 ± 0.22a mg/dl respectively. The result showed that no significant (P>0.05) differences were found in the mean serum Cu and Zn concentrations between the different animals species, while the mean serum Mg concentration was significantly (P<0.01) different between animals species. The mean Cu concentration in serum of the different animal species was significantly (P<0.01) high (2.063 ±0.26 mg/L), whereas the means of Zn and Mg concentrations in serum of the different animal species were significantly (P<0.01) low (0.262±0.04 mg/L and 1.654±0.24 mg/dl respectively) as compared to the normal value. Conclusion: The result showed that the serum concentrations of Cu and Zn are not different between goat, sheep and cattle, whereas the serum concentration of Mg is different between this species. There are changes in the levels of serum Cu, Zn and Mg in the sick animals. Key words: Cu, Zn, Mg, goat, sheep, cattle, sickness