Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW), Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, 3400 Vine Street, Cincinnati, OH, 45220, USA.
Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, 4125 Beaumont Rd, Lansing, MI, 489100, USA.
Sci Rep. 2024 Jun 14;14(1):13808. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-64472-z.
Poaching is again driving rhinos to the brink of extinction due to the demand for rhino horn products consumed for cultural, medicinal, and social purposes. Paradoxically, the same horn for which rhinos are killed may contain valuable clues about the species' health. Analyses of horn composition could reveal such useful bioindicators while elucidating what people actually ingest when they consume horn derivatives. Our goals were to quantify minerals (including metals) in rhino horn and investigate sampling factors potentially impacting results. Horns (n = 22) obtained during necropsies of white (n = 3) and black (n = 13) zoo rhinos were sampled in several locations yielding 182 specimens for analysis. Initial data exposed environmental (soil) contamination in the horn's exterior layer, but also confirmed that deep (≥ 1 cm), contaminant-free samples contained measurable concentrations of numerous minerals (n = 18). Of the factors examined in deep samples, color-associated mineral differences were the most profound with dark samples higher in zinc, copper, lead, and barium (p < 0.05). Our data demonstrate that rhino horns contain both essential and potentially toxic minerals that could be relevant to rhino health status, but low concentrations make their human health benefits or risks unlikely following consumption.
偷猎活动再次导致犀牛濒临灭绝，因为人们出于文化、药用和社交目的，对犀牛角制品的需求仍在增长。具有讽刺意味的是，正是这种导致犀牛被杀的角，可能包含了有关该物种健康状况的有价值线索。对角成分的分析可以揭示出有价值的生物指标，同时阐明人们在食用角衍生物时实际摄入了什么。我们的目标是定量分析犀牛角中的矿物质（包括金属），并研究可能影响结果的采样因素。对在动物园进行尸检的白犀牛（n = 3）和黑犀牛（n = 13）的角进行了采样，在几个部位共采集了 182 个样本进行分析。最初的数据显示，角的外层存在环境（土壤）污染，但也证实了深层（≥1 厘米）、无污染的样本中含有可测量浓度的许多矿物质（n = 18）。在深层样本中检查的因素中，颜色相关的矿物质差异最为明显，深色样本中锌、铜、铅和钡的含量更高（p < 0.05）。我们的数据表明，犀牛角中含有对犀牛健康状况可能相关的必需和潜在有毒矿物质，但由于浓度较低，因此在食用后不太可能对人类健康产生有益或有害的影响。
