Trace element concentrations in animal feed samples from Thrace region, Turkey

In the current work, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn concentrations were measured in the feed samples of the dairy cattle by means of atomic absorption spectrophotometer. For this purpose a total of 47 common vetch, hay, concentrate feed and wheat samples were collected from the villages of Thrace region. The average concentrations of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn were found as 1.15 ± 0.19, 3.22 ± 0.64, 4.51 ± 1.60, 3.46 ± 0.94, 90.6 ± 13.5, 7.1 ± 0.4, 9.2 ± 3.9, 42.2 ± 9.2 mg kg -1 , respectively, in dry matter. The highest concentrations of Cu, Fe, Zn were found in the concentrate feed samples while the highest concentrations of Cd, Co, Cr, Ni, Pb have been found in the hay samples. Factor analysis was performed in order to distinguish sources of measured elements. High positive correlation coefficients were observed among Cd, Co, Cr, Ni, Pb amounts of the feed. Average Cd concentrations of common vetch, hay and wheat samples were found higher than limit value recommended by dairy food organization .