Trace Elements in Beef Cattle: A Review of the Scientific Approach from One Health Perspective

Abstract

The objective was to investigate the context, approach and research topics present in the papers that analysed trace elements in beef cattle to identify gaps and scientific perspectives for the sustainable management of trace elements in livestock. The main research groups came from the United States, Spain, Japan, Brazil, India and Slovakia, which represented 31% of the papers produced. Only 37% of studies addressed aspects that integrated animal, environmental and human health. The reviewed papers concerned 56 elements and 15 bovine tissues (Cu, Zn, Pb, liver, muscle and kidney highlighted). The main gaps were (1) lack of research in developing countries, (2) the need to understand the impact of different environmental issues and their relationship to the conditions in which animals are raised, and (3) the need to understand the role of many trace elements in animal nutrition and their relationship to environmental and human health. Finally, we highlight possible ways to expand knowledge and provide innovations for broad emerging issues, primarily through expanding collaborative research networks. In this context, we suggest the adoption of the One Health approach for planning further research on trace elements in livestock. Moreover, the One Health approach should also be considered for managers and politicians for a sustainable environmental care and food safety.

Mineral Content of Liver of Buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) Reared in Different Ecosystems in the Eastern Amazon

“…Among the various nutrients contained in the liver of ruminants, minerals are of fundamental importance, as they participate in multiple vital functions of the animal and human organism [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. The animal organism contains around 50 minerals; macrominerals, which are calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium, chlorine and sulfur, which are required in greater quantities, and microminerals such as iron, cobalt, copper, iodine, manganese, zinc and selenium, which are called essential, as they are needed in small amounts [ 16 , 17 ].…”

Specific of accumulation of manganese in organs and tissues of Hereford cattle

“…In our study, we consider the patterns of distribution and interaction of manganese in various organs and muscle tissues of beef cattle of the Hereford breed in an uncontaminated zone of Western Siberia. The goal of the study is of high interest both due to the importance of the data on Mn distribution in cattle from various geographic locations and grown with forage with different contamination levels for understanding general patterns (Orjales et al, 2018;Silva et al, 2022) and because the identification of such patterns may be useful for the development of intravital and low-invasive methods to analyze element status of cattle. For example, in the article by Narozhnykh (2023), the method was proposed for predicting iron level in the muscle tissue of Hereford cattle using results of blood analysis results.…”