Published in Scientific Works. Series C. Veterinary Medicine, Vol. LXIII, Issue 1
Written by Gheorghe V. GORAN, Emanuela BADEA, Victor CRIVINEANU
The main objective of this study was to evaluate the levels of 20 potentially toxic metals and essential minerals in hair samples from cats with different liver disorders, compared to control samples. Analysis of the hair elemental content of the cats with liver failure (n=5), cats with liver abscess (n=4), cats with chronic hepatitis (n=6), and clinically healthy cats as control (n=15), were performed by inductively coupled plasma-optic emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). In this study, Ca and Mg levels registered very significant differences (p<0.001), and Cu, Na, and Zn concentrations registered significant differences (p<0.05) between their levels in hair samples from cats with different liver disorders and control samples. No significant differences have been registered for heavy metals present in hair samples from cats with different liver disorders and clinically healthy cats. Independent of the significant differences, the highest values were registered by all the elements in hair samples from cats with chronic hepatitis, excepting Ca, Mg, and Se levels, which were higher in clinically healthy cats. The current study presents one of the first investigations of the suitability of hair as an indicator for mineral status of cats with different liver disorders in an urban area of Romania. Hair mineral levels determined in the present research may be considered as a contribution to a base of reference concentrations of minerals in female cats in Romania.
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