Variation in contamination status of cadmium in forages and blood plasma of livestock in different districts of Punjab, Pakistan

The pollution in the environment causes many health problems such as industrial, agriculture, mining and natural process adds many harmful substances in the surrounding and damage the environment. These toxic substances make the part of the food chain due to which livestock is at high exposure to risk. The present investigation was carried out in different district of Punjab to find out the cadmium levels in soil, forages as well as in the blood of the ruminants like goat and sheep. The cadmium contents in soil of district Sargodha, Mianwali and Bhakhar were ranged from 4.57 to 4.94, 2.98 to 3.95, 1.65 to 2.98 mg/kg respectively. The level of cadmium was higher in Sargodha as compare to Mianwali and Bhakkar. The mean concentrations of cadmium in forages which were used for feeding purpose were found between 2.745-3.432, 2.245-3.196 and 1.9-2.036 mg/kg for Sargodha, Mianwali and Bhakhar, respectively. The mean concentrations of cadmium in blood of goat which consumed the contaminated forages were between 2.152-2.436, 1.727-2.39 and 2.3-2.62 mg/L for Sargodha, Mianwali and Bhakhar, respectively. In blood of sheep, residual levels of cadmium in district Sargodha, Mianwali and Bhakhar were ranged from 2.152 to 2.436, 1.794 to 2.286 and 1.97 to 2.066 mg/L, respectively. All these values of cadmium for blood samples were within the permissible limit set by WHO.