The objective of this preliminary study was to evaluate the levels of selected heavy metals in hair samples of Holstein dairy cows reared on agricultural soils characterized by grassland subjected to anthropogenic impacts. Ninety Holstein-Friesian cows were enrolled in the study and divided into six groups according to farm origin. From each animal, hair samples were collected in order to determine the content of aluminum, chromium, iron, copper, zinc, arsenic, cadmium, and lead. One-way analysis of variance was applied to assess statistically significant differences in the studied heavy metals among the six groups. A significant effect of groups (p < 0.05) on all tested heavy metals was observed. In this study, the low concentration of heavy metals in the hair of the studied animals led us to think that the cows were subjected to low levels of these compounds, preventing them from bioaccumulating. Although the current study provides only preliminary results, it highlights the importance of investigating the concentration of heavy metals in cow hair to improve the health and welfare of both humans and animals.

中文翻译：

---

西西里岛不同地区奶牛毛发中某些重金属的定量作为环境暴露的生物指标——初步研究


这项初步研究的目的是评估在受人为影响的草地农业土壤上饲养的荷斯坦奶牛毛发样本中选定重金属的水平。九十头荷斯坦-弗里斯兰奶牛参加了这项研究，并根据农场来源分为六组。从每只动物身上采集毛发样本，以确定铝、铬、铁、铜、锌、砷、镉和铅的含量。应用单因素方差分析来评估六组之间所研究的重金属的统计显着差异。观察到各组对所有测试的重金属都有显着影响（ p < 0.05）。在这项研究中，所研究动物的头发中重金属浓度较低，使我们认为奶牛受到的这些化合物含量较低，从而防止了它们的生物累积。尽管目前的研究仅提供了初步结果，但它强调了研究牛毛中重金属浓度对于改善人类和动物的健康和福利的重要性。