Selected minerals in skeletal muscles of fallow deer (Dama dama) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) farmed in the organic system - preliminary study

The aim of the present study was to identify and assess the determinants of the content of Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe, Cd, and Pb in longissimus lumborum (LL) and semimembranosus (SM) muscles of fallow deer and red deer reared in the organic system. The concentrations of 6 elements (Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe, Cd, Pb) in fallow deer and red deer meat produced in the organic system in Poland were analyzed with the use of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The animals, i.e. 12 ca. 2- and 3-year-old fallow deer (Dama dama) and 12 ca. 3- and 4-year-old red deer (Cervus elaphus), were culled during the autumn season. Both groups of animals comprised 6 males and 6 females. A significant effect of the species on the content of selected minerals in the meat was noted. It was found that the LL muscle from the fallow deer was a rich source of Ca, Mg, and Zn, and the meat from the red deer had high amounts of Zn and Fe. The age of the animals had a significant effect on the level of Mg in the red deer meat.