Journal of Camel Practice and Research

The present work was carried out to determine the concentrations of trace elements (copper and zinc) and heavy metals (cadmium and lead) in the different organs of camels slaughtered in municipal slaughterhouse of Casablanca, which is the main source of consumption of camel meat in the study area. The samples of meat, liver, lungs, heart and kidneys of 30 camels were collected. All the samples were digested, mineralised and analysed for copper, zinc, cadmium and lead using an Inductively Coupled Plasma - Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The concentrations of trace elements and heavy metals ranged from 1.10 to 14.22 ppm for copper, 4.05 to 10.88 ppm for zinc, 0.023 to 0.69 ppm for cadmium and 0.71 to 1.33 ppm for lead. Few data are available in literature on copper and zinc concentrations in different organs of camel. Copper concentrations observed in meat and liver were comparable to values recorded in different countries. The concentrations found in lung, heart and kidney, were slightly lower than concentrations reported in literature. The highest concentration of copper was observed in liver. For zinc, lower concentrations have been observed in different organs of camel compared to those reported earlier in literature, the highest concentrations being recorded in meat and liver. Regarding cadmium and lead concentrations in different organs of camel, it is difficult to link our results to polluting context, because no data on these elements in camel organs were available. However, the concentrations of cadmium in kidney and liver were higher than that observed in other organs. For lead, the highest concentration was observed in liver.