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Arsenic in Eggs and Excreta of Laying Hens in Bangladesh: A Preliminary Study
Ghosh, Amalendu; Awal, M.A.; Majumder, Shankar; Mostofa, Mahbub.; Khair, Abul; Islam, M.Z. & Rao, D. Ramkishan
Abstract
The aim of this study was to detect arsenic concentrations in feed, well-water for drinking, eggs, and excreta
of laying hens in arsenic-prone areas of Bangladesh and to assess the effect of arsenic-containing feed and
well-water on the accumulation of arsenic in eggs and excreta of the same subject. One egg from each laying
hen (n=248) and its excreta, feed, and well-water for drinking were collected. Total arsenic concentrations
were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer, coupled with hydride generator. Effects
of arsenic-containing feed and drinking-water on the accumulation of arsenic in eggs and excreta were
analyzed by multivariate regression model, using Stata software. Mean arsenic concentrations in drinkingwater,
feed (dry weight [DW]), egg (wet weight [WW]), and excreta (DW) of hens were 77.3, 176.6, 19.2,
and 1,439.9 ppb respectively. Significant (p<0.01) positive correlations were found between the arsenic contents
in eggs and drinking-water (r=0.602), drinking-water and excreta (r=0.716), feed and excreta (r=0.402)
as well as between the arsenic content in eggs and the age of the layer (r=0.243). On an average, 55% and
82% of the total variation in arsenic contents of eggs and excreta respectively could be attributed to the
variation in the geographic area, age, feed type, and arsenic contents of drinking-water and feed. For each
week’s increase in age of hens, arsenic content in eggs increased by 0.94%. For every 1% elevation of arsenic
in drinking-water, arsenic in eggs and excreta increased by 0.41% and 0.44% respectively whereas for a 1%
rise of arsenic in feed, arsenic in eggs and excreta increased by 0.40% and 0.52% respectively. These results
provide evidence that, although high arsenic level prevails in well-water for drinking in Bangladesh, the
arsenic shows low biological transmission capability from body to eggs and, thus, the value was below the
maximum tolerable limit for humans. However, arsenic in drinking-water and/or feed makes a significant
contribution to the arsenic accumulations in eggs and excreta of laying hens.
Keywords
Arsenic; Drinking-water; Egg; Excreta; Feed; Laying hen; Bangladesh
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