Abstract

PEREZ CARRERA, A  and  FERNANDEZ CIRELLI, A. Arsenic in the southeast plains of Cordoba province, Argentine: Biotransference to bovine milk. InVet [online]. 2007, vol.9, n.1, pp.123-135. ISSN 1668-3498.

Trace element transference from environmental matrices to the agricultural food chain is an actual phenomenon that is being analyzed in different regions of the world. Nevertheless, knowledge about trace element content in food, particularly in milk, is scarce. In Argentine, an element of great concern is arsenic due to its natural occurrence in groundwater in large areas of the country. The aim of the present work was determine arsenic content in livestock drinking water and milk from dairy farms located in the southeast of the Cordoba province. Arsenic concentrations in all collected phreatic samples suggested the possibility of transference to bovine milk. Arsenic levels in soils and forage were among the normal levels for regions of natural occurrence of this element. No toxicity for humans could be expected from the arsenic concentrations determined in milk. A biotransference factor (BTF) of arsenic to bovine milk from cattle arsenic intake was calculated for our production systems in the conditions of our country.

Keywords : Arsenic; Biotransfer factor; Bovine milk.

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