The investigation of the presence of heavy metals and evaluation of their concentration level in forage grasses (Bracharia) at a dairy farm

Abstract

The quest to secure healthy consumption for both animals and man necessitated the interest of the authors to investigate the presence and the level of concentration of five heavy metals [Lead (Pb), Iron (Fe), Cadmium (Cd), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn)] in forages for the cows at a dairy farm in a Nigerian University. The studied forages were of three species namely; Brachiaria Gayana (also known as giant signal grass), Brachiaria Sabia, and Brachiaria Decumbens, which were collected from the research farm at Bowen University, Iwo, Nigeria. These samples were randomly collected in triplicate, labeled, stored and analyzed for the presence of five different heavy metals using PG990 atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The results showed traces of Pb although at a minimal level in all the samples collected, while Cd was not detected in all the forage grasses. The result also showed that the mean concentration of Fe, an essential heavy metal was the highest among all the heavy metals in the forages studied. The result is expected to shed more light on understanding the physicochemical properties of the forages in the studied dairy community.