Determination of mineral concentrations in stem and seed of Juncus acutus

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine micro and macro mineral concentrations in stem and seed of Juncus acutus for ruminant nutrition. The samples of Juncus acutus stem and seed were randomly collected from Kizilirmak Delta, Samsun, Turkey. Micro and macro mineral concentrations of samples were analyzed by using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrophotometer (ICP-MS) and ion chromatography (IC) methods, respectively. Differences between mean concentrations of B, Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and Se in stem and seed of Juncus acutus samples were significant (P<0.05). The mean values of Al, Cr, Fe, Co, Ni and Se for stem of Juncus acutus were higher than values for seed of Juncus acutus but, the mean values of Mn, Cu and Zn for seed of Juncus acutus were higher than stem of Juncus acutus (P<0.05). The concentrations of Na, K and Ca in stem were higher than seed of Juncus acutus. On the other hand, the concentration of Mg for seed of Juncus acutus were higher than stem of Juncus acutus (P<0.05). In conclusion, the obtained results show that stem and seed of Juncus acutus may be a good source to meet the micro and macro mineral requirements of ruminant animals. Besides, the seeds of Juncus acutus may also provide micro and macro minerals to birds in wetlands.