Study of essential elements in cattle tissues from a tropical country using instrumental neutron activation analysis.

There has been increasing interest in the elemental composition of animal tissues to support health and nutritional studies. Determining the elemental concentration in cattle tissues is especially important because these materials are used for multipurpose objectives such as the assessment of animal health, the quality of human foods consumed, and as a potential environmental biomonitor. Chromium, copper, sodium, potassium, iron, and zinc levels were determined in bovine tissues--kidney, liver and muscle--from cattle bred and raised in a potentially metal contaminated region because of mineral activities. The Brazilian data were obtained using k0-instrumental neutron activation analysis, performed at the Nuclear Development Technology Centre/Nuclear Energy National Commission (CDTN/CNEN) in Minas Gerais State. The values of international organizations and the Brazilian analytical data are compatible. This study indicates that the nuclear technique is an efficient tool to determine elemental concentration in animal biological samples.