Assessment of Heavy Metals in The Muscle of Domestic Birds

Abstract— The main objective of the present study was to provide the information on the concentration and distribution of manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb), in the muscle of different species of domesticated birds  (guinea fowl, Local fowl, Cockerel) considering both male and female species using  Atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Initially, the samples were digested with concentrated nitric acid, Hydrogen peroxide and Perchloric acid in a Teflon beaker. The highest metal contents determined in the muscles of the domesticated birds expressed in mgL-1 are Fe 5.10±0.09, Mn 1.99±0.09, Zn 2.78±O.15, Cd 0.87±0.08, Pb 3.57±0.10, and Cu 2.62±0.11. The AAS instrument was certified by running certain samples several times in the AAS.  The mean moisture content of the muscle chicken part is 74.589%±1.87.  The results of this study indicate that chickens raised at Akure, Ondo state, Nigeria have concentrations of Fe, Zn and Mn below the permissible FAO/WHO levels except Cd, which is higher than the 0.2mgkg-1 stipulated by FAO/WHO.  The contributions of these metals to the body burden can therefore be considered negligible, thus the chickens may be considered safe for human consumption.