Effect of Grazing to Copper Pollution Meadow on Copper Metabolism in Wumeng Semi-fine Wool Sheep

摘要

To assess the effect of copper pollution meadow on grazing Wumeng semi-fine wool sheep and find an action plan to solve copper pollution, two experiments (grazing and sulfur supplementation) were conducted on copper pollution meadow at Wumeng mountainous area in Weining County of Guizhou Province. The contents of heavy metal elements were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) in soil, pasture, and animal tissues, and the blood parameter was determined by automatic blood cell analyzer. The results of grazing experiments showed that the content of copper and zinc in animal tissues when Wumeng semi-fine wool sheep grazed in the copper-polluted meadow were significantly increased (P0.01), but the molybdenum content in animal tissues significantly decreased (P0.01). At the end of experiment, the Hb, PCV, and RBC of the experimental Wumeng semi-fine wool sheep were significantly lower than control group (P0.01), and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) was significantly lower than the control group (P0.05), and the wool yield and length were significantly lower than not the control group (P0.01). The results of the sulfur supplementation experiment showed that the supplementation of sodium sulfate significantly reduced the copper element content in blood and liver of Wumeng semi-fine wool sheep, the hemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), and red blood cell count (RBC) in blood of the experimental Wumeng semi-fine wool sheep were significantly higher than the control group (P0.01), and the blood parameter reached the normal range at the end of the experiment. The content of copper element in blood and liver of the control group continued to increase, and the content of molybdenum in the animal tissues continued to decrease (P0.01). The Hb, PCV, RBC, and MCV of the experimental Wumeng semi-fine wool sheep continued to decline, and hemolytic anemia was seen in Wumeng semi-fine wool sheep from control group at the end of experiment. However, sulfur supplementation had no significant effect on the relevant indicators of wool quality. Conclusion: copper pollution meadow seriously affect the mineral metabolism of Wumeng semi-fine wool sheep, and we can utilize the antagonism of sulfur and copper in the food chain to achieve the goal of harmless utilization of copper pollution meadow.