Presence of ochratoxin A and toxic elements residue in tissues and their impact on safety of pork

Abstract

The aim and task of this study was to determine the presence of ochratoxin A (OTA) in blood serum, liver and kidneys of fattening swine, slaughtered regularly, originating from different areas of Serbia. During meat inspection on the slaughterhouse line samples of blood, kidney and liver per animal were randomly sampled (n=90) and analyzed by HPLC for ochratoxin A. Also, the presence of nephrotoxic (cadmium, lead, mercury and arsenic) elements in kidneys was carried out. Of the 90 liver samples, 26.6% contained OTA in the range of 0.22-14.5 ng/g, while the incidence of OTA in serum and kidney samples were very similar (31 and 33.3%, respectively). The analyses showed that serum samples were positive in the range of 0.22-221 ng/mL, while ochratoxin A concentrations in the kidney were between 0.17 and 52.5 ng/g. The mean distribution of OTA residue followed the pattern: serum>kidneys>liver (100>34>17), while in respect to occurrence it followed the pattern: kidneys>serum>liver (100>93.4>79.9). The results of this study showed that 2.2% of kidney sample had a content of ochratoxin A above the maximum permitted limit in Serbia of 10 ng/g. The results from this survey indicated that there was a low correlation between the OTA level in serum and liver as well as in the OTA level in kidney and liver (r=0.319 and 0.341, respectively) while the strongest correlation was found between the OTA level in serum and in kidney (r=0.973). The presence of mercury was found in 33.3% of kidney samples in the range of 0.005-0.055 mg/kg, while the presence of cadmium was found to a lesser degree (27.7%). The Hg concentrations in the kidney samples were lower than 0.10 mg/kg and did not exceed the guideline level established in Serbia, while concentration of cadmium in only one kidney sample was greater than 1.0 mg/kg, and exceeded the limit proposed by the Serbian Rule Book. The presence of arsenic was found only in one sample, while the presence of lead was not established. This study shows the presence of OTA in Serbian slaughtered pigs at levels comparable to those reported in other countries.

Cilj ovog rada je bio da se utvrdi prisustvo rezidua ohratoksina A (OTA) i toksičnih elemenata (kadmijum, olovo, živa i arsen) u tkivima zaklanih, tovnih svinja, poreklom iz različitih regiona Srbije. Tokom veterinarsko-sanitarnog pregleda zaklanih svinja, na liniji klanja, metodom slučajnog uzorkovanja uzimani su uzorci krvi, a zatim pripadajuća jetra i bubrezi, odgovarajuće životinje (n=90). Prisustvo rezidua OTA utvrđeno je u 26,6% uzoraka jetre u količini od 0,22 do 14,5 ng/g, dok je zastupljenost rezidua OTA u uzorcima krvne plazme i bubrega bila skoro identična (31,1 i 33,3%, ponaosob). Sadržaj OTA u uzorcima krvne plazme kretao se od 0,22 do 220,8 ng/mL, dok se u uzorcima bubrega kretao od 0,17 do 52,5 ng/g. Distribucija OTA u ispitanim tkivima (u %) u odnosu na sadržaj kretala se sledećim redosledom: krvna plazma> bubrezi>jetra (100>34>17), dok se u odnosu na zastupljenost rezidua kretala sledećim redosledom bubrezi>krvna plazma>jetra (100> 93,4>79,9). Rezultati naših istraživanja ukazuju na to da je u 2,2% ispitanih uzoraka bubrega utvrđen sadržaj OTA iznad maksimalno dozvoljene granice (10 ng/g). Nizak stepen pozitivne korelacije utvrđen je između sadržaja OTA u krvnoj plazmi i jetri (r=0,319), kao i između sadržaja OTA u jetri i bubrezima (r=0,341). Vrlo visok stepen pozitivne korelacije utvrđen je između sadržaja OTA u krvnoj plazmi i bubrezima (r=0,973). Prisustvo rezidua žive utvrđeno je u 33,3% uzoraka bubrega, u odnosu na učestalost nalaza rezidua kadmijuma koja je bila nešto manja (27,7%). Sadržaj žive kretao se u granicama predviđenim pravilnikom (0,005-0,055 mg/kg), dok je sadržaj kadmijuma u jednom uzorku bio iznad maksimalno dozvoljene granice (1,23 mg/kg). Prisustvo arsena utvrđeno je samo u jednom uzorku, dok prisustvo olova nije utvrđeno.