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Changes in Trace Element Contents and Morphology in Bones of Duck Exposed to Molybdenum or/and Cadmium

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Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) and high molybdenum (Mo) can lead to adverse reactions on animals, but the coinduced toxicity of Mo and Cd to bone in ducks was not well understood. The objective of this study was to investigate the changes in trace elements’ contents and morphology in bones of duck exposed to Mo or/and Cd. One hundred twenty healthy 11-day-old male ducks were randomly divided into six groups and treated with commercial diet containing Cd or/and Mo. On the 60th and 120th days, the blood, excretion, and metatarsals were collected to determine alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and the contents of Mo, Cd, calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), zine (Zn), and selenium (Se). In addition, metatarsals were subjected to histopathological analysis with the optical microscope and radiography. The results indicated that Mo and Cd contents significantly increased while Ca, P, Cu, and Se contents remarkably decreased in metatarsals in coexposure groups (P < 0.01). Contents of Fe and Zn in metatarsals had no significant difference among groups (P > 0.05). Ca content in serum had no significant difference among experimental groups (P > 0.05), but P content was significantly decreased in HMo and HMo + Cd groups (P < 0.05). Contents of Ca and P in excretion and ALP activity were significantly increased in coinduced groups (P < 0.05). Furthermore, osteoporotic lesions, less and thinner trabecular bone were observed in combination groups. The findings suggested that dietary of Cd or/and Mo could lead to bone damages in ducks via disturbing the balance of Ca and P in body and homeostasis of Cu, Fe, Zn, and Se in bones; moreover, the two elements showed a possible synergistic relationship.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31260625, Beijing, People’s Republic of China), the Technology R&D Program of Jiangxi Province (20122BBF60078), and Training Plan for Young Scientists of Jiangxi province (No. 2014BCB23040, Nanchang, People’s Republic of China). The authors thank all members of the research group in the clinical veterinary medicine laboratory in the College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, for help in the experimental process.

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  1. College of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, Jiangxi Province, People’s Republic of China

    Yilin Liao, Huabin Cao, Bing Xia, Qingyang Xiao, Ping Liu, Guoliang Hu & Caiying Zhang

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  1. Yilin Liao
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Correspondence to Guoliang Hu or Caiying Zhang.

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All animal care and experimental procedures were approved by the institutional ethics committee of Jiangxi Agricultural University.

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Yilin Liao, Huabin Cao, and Bing Xia are the equal first authors.

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Liao, Y., Cao, H., Xia, B. et al. Changes in Trace Element Contents and Morphology in Bones of Duck Exposed to Molybdenum or/and Cadmium. Biol Trace Elem Res 175, 449–457 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-016-0778-0

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