Cortical concentrations of metals and protein in the brain of two breeds of goats in Nigeria

Abstract

Metal pollution and exposure is an increasing global problem. One of the best ways to assess the impact of this problem on the brain is by using animals raised in such environments. As a prelude to this, the goat was used in this study to determine its normal metal and protein level in the brain. Ten metals and total crude protein were each analysed in the brains of twenty adult goats belonging to Red Sokoto (RS) and West African Dwarf (WAD) breeds. The dry weight concentration of Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, and I obtained in the brain using the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer were 189.10±42.99 ppm, 3.08±0.55ppm, 0.90±0.52ppm, 73.00±10.63ppm, 0.05±0.03ppm, and 188.91±61.13ppm 3.43±0.71ppm, 1.19±0.64ppm, 73.92±7.88ppm and 0.05±0.02ppm in West African Dwarf(WAD) and Red Sokoto(RS) goats respectively. The male RS goats had significantly higher levels (P<0.05) of Mn than the females. While the male WAD goats had higher levels of total crude protein, the concentration between the sexes of the RS goats was the same. This study has given information on metal and protein concentration in the brain of goat for use in comparative neurochemistry and toxicological studies.

Keywords: metal, protein, brain, goats, Nigeria

African Journal of Biomedical Research Vol. 8(3) 2005: 191-196