Heavy metal exposure in large game from a lead mining area: Effects on oxidative stress and fatty acid composition in liver

The Pb mining area of the valley of Alcudia and the Sierra Madrona mountains (S. Spain) has been exploited intermittently for over 2100 years, since Roman occupation and up until the late 1900s. Red deer ( n = 168) and wild boar ( n = 58) liver and bone (metacarpus) were analyzed for Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, As and Se. Lipid peroxidation, total and oxidized glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), GSH peroxidase (GPX) and fatty acid composition were studied in liver of red deer. The concentrations of Pb in liver and bone of red deer and wild boar were higher in the mining area than in the control area, and higher in the wild boar than red deer, but well below the level associated with clinical signs of Pb poisoning. Liver levels of Cu, Cd and Se were also higher in red deer from the mining area. Red deer from the mining area had 39% less total GSH than in the control area. The percentage of docosahexaenoic acid in liver of red deer from the mining area was 16% lower than in the control area. Heavy metal exposure reduces the level of glutathione and the percentage of docosahexaenoic acid in liver of red deer.