Document Type : Original Articles
Authors
1
Animal and Poultry Health and Nutrition, Department of Basic Sciences, Toxicology and Animal Poisoning Research, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran (FVM-UT), Tehran, Iran,
2
Animal and Poultry Health and Nutrition, Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran (FVM-UT), Tehran, Iran
3
Toxicology, Department of Comparative Bioscience, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University Tehran (FVM-UT), Tehran, Iran
4
Faculty of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
5
Dep of comparative bioscience,Faculty of Veterinary medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
10.22059/ijvm.2024.381192.1005628
Abstract
Background: Numerous studies have shown that exposing livestock to environmental and nutritional pollutants can endanger their health, leading to decreased production and product quality. Additionally, it can potentially transfer pollutants to higher levels of the food chain through contaminated products. Plastic materials have recently garnered significant attention as pollutants. Despite the crucial role of livestock and poultry in human nutrition, providing a significant portion of the required protein through meat, milk, and related products, limited research has been conducted in this area.
Objectives: the experiment was done to estimate the extent of microplastics in drinking water, complete diet, and certain feedstuffs in two dairy farms located at Tehran and Babol regions.
Methods: water and feed samples was collected in accordance with the standards of the National Organization of Iran. Microscopical examination of samples was done after digesting their organic matter contents with potassium hydroxide () and size, color, and quantity were determined. The ingested number of microplastics by each cows was estimated based on the consumption of each feed type.
Results: The findings revealed the presence of a large number of microplastics in all feedstuffs, varying in sizes and colors. A significant difference in particle sizes was observed between the two farms. It was estimated that each cow are ingesting over 5000 microplastic particles daily through their feed.
Conclusion: It can be concluded that dairy cows are exposed to microplastics through their diet, and corn grain was the most contaminated diet ingredients. It was found that particle sizes are between 100-700 micrometers.
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