TRACE ELEMENTS (Zn, Cu, Cd) IN SHEEP LIVING IN SEWAGE FARMS OF MARRAKESH CITY

Abstract

Toxic and essential trace elements (Zn, Cu, Cd) were measured in muscle, bone, liver and kidney of sheep grazing on the sewage farm of Marrakech City, Morocco. These animals were found to be seriously contaminated by metals, especially the cadmium, and the levels were higher in liver and kidney which are the specific target organs for metal bioaccumulation. The high cadmium content seemed to contribute to a reduction in zinc and copper levels. The arithmetic mean concentrations of zinc, copper and cadmium were, respectively, 120, 98.7 and 3.6 mg/kg (dry weight) in the liver; 84.2, 25.8 and 7.4 mg/kg (dry weight) in the kidney.