Determination of total mercury in chicken feed, its translocation to different tissues of chicken and their manure using cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometer

In this study, the contents of total mercury (Hg) present in poultry feed, tissues of broiler chicken and manure were assessed. For this purpose, chicken feeds (five brands), different tissues of broiler chicken of two age groups (1–3 and 4–6 week) and manure samples were collected from five commercial poultry farms of Hyderabad, Pakistan. The Hg concentrations in feeds, chicken tissues (leg, muscle, liver and heart) and manure samples were determined by CVAAS, prior to microwave assisted acid digestion in closed vessels. For validation, a certified reference material, DORM-2 was used. The limit of detection and quantitation were 0.117 and 0.382 μg/kg, respectively The Hg concentration in different chicken feed were found in the range of 8.57–16.5 μg/kg. The concentration of Hg in chicken tissues were found in the range of 2.54–5.54 μg/kg (liver), 1.27–3.86 μg/kg (muscles) and 2.13–3.27 μg/kg (heart). The bioaccumulation factors (BAF) for Hg in different tissues were found in the range of 0.092–0.269. The obtained data shows the high correlation coefficient between feed and manure, while low r-values were obtained between Hg levels in feed and tissues of broiler chicken of two age groups.