Mineral Content of Liver of Buffaloes (<i>Bubalus bubalis</i>) Reared in Different Ecosystems in the Eastern Amazon
Laurena Silva Rodrigues,
Jamile Andréa Rodrigues da Silva,
José de Brito Lourenço-Júnior,
André Guimarães Maciel e Silva,
André Martinho de Almeida,
Miguel Pedro Mourato,
Vinicius Costa Gomes de Castro,
Welligton Conceição da Silva,
José António Mestre Prates
Affiliations
Laurena Silva Rodrigues
Postgraduate Program in Animal Science (PPGCAN), Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Para (UFPA), UFRA, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), Castanhal 68746-360, Brazil
Jamile Andréa Rodrigues da Silva
Institute of Animal Health and Production, Federal Rural University of the Amazônia (UFRA), Belem 66077-830, Brazil
José de Brito Lourenço-Júnior
Postgraduate Program in Animal Science (PPGCAN), Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Para (UFPA), UFRA, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), Castanhal 68746-360, Brazil
André Guimarães Maciel e Silva
Postgraduate Program in Animal Science (PPGCAN), Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Para (UFPA), UFRA, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), Castanhal 68746-360, Brazil
André Martinho de Almeida
Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food (LEAF), Institute of Agronomy (ISA), University of Lisbon, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal
Miguel Pedro Mourato
Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food (LEAF), Institute of Agronomy (ISA), University of Lisbon, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal
Vinicius Costa Gomes de Castro
Postgraduate Program in Animal Health and Production in the Amazon (PPGSPAA), Federal Rural University of the Amazon (UFRA), Belem 66077-830, Brazil
Welligton Conceição da Silva
Postgraduate Program in Animal Science (PPGCAN), Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Para (UFPA), UFRA, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), Castanhal 68746-360, Brazil
José António Mestre Prates
Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health (CIISA), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon, 1300-477 Lisboa, Portugal
This study aimed to evaluate the influence of different production ecosystems, three in native and cultivated pastures (extensive), at two seasons of the year (dry and rainy), and one in confinement (intensive) in the Eastern Amazon, on the mineral content of buffalo liver raised on these ecosystems. Twelve male buffalo (n = 12), aged between 24 and 36 months, slaughtered in commercial slaughterhouses, were used in each of the ecosystems considered: Marajó; Lower Amazon; Cultivated Pasture, and in confinement system, Pará, Brazil. Approximately 5 g of liver was collected, stored and frozen until lyophilization. Samples were analyzed for mineral content based on inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICPOES) readings. The relationship between extensive ecosystems and an intensive production system (p p < 0.05) the mineral values found in the liver of buffaloes raised in the ecosystems, for sodium (Na), K, calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sulfur (S), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and barium (Ba). The period of the year interacted with the values of Na, K, S and Cu; however, an interaction of local vs. period of the yer was observed for the values of K, Mg, P, S and Cu. It can be concluded that the buffalo liver is an excellent source of minerals and can be included in the human diet and that the ecosystem the animals are raised influences its content.
