Regional and Seasonal Variability of Mineral Patterns in Some Organs of Slaughtered One-Humped Camels [Camelus dromedarius] from Saudi Arabia

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Camel products are receiving great interest worldwide because of their high functional properties and nutritive values, but concern regarding their high content of unhealthy ingredients has also been raised. The trace, macrominerals, and heavy metal levels were investigated in the tissue and whole blood of slaughtered camels during the summer and winter seasons in Saudi Arabia. For whole blood, there was no significant effect of season on all mineral concentrations, but it was affected by regions in Saudi Arabia. A significantly higher Ca and P concentration was reported during the winter in liver tissues compared with the summer, with a significant variation in Ca, Mg, P, and Se between different locations. Furthermore, summer season affected the Cd and P concentrations in rumen tissues with no effect on rumen fluid. ABSTRACT: Camel products are receiving great interest worldwide because of their high functional properties and nutritive values. Therefore, this study was focused on the variation of copper [Cu], zinc [Zn], manganese [Mn], selenium [Se], iron [Fe], iodine [I], and some heavy metals, cobalt [Co], lead [Pb], and cadmium [Cd], in the blood and tissues of slaughtered camels from five regions in Saudi Arabia [SA] during the summer and winter seasons, because environmental factors vary from region to region. Whole blood, meat, liver, rumen fluid, and rumen tissues were collected from the slaughterhouse in each region during the two seasons. Moreover, samples were prepared and analyzed for trace mineral and heavy metal concentrations using ICP-MS. The data were statistically analyzed as part of a complete randomized design and correlation analysis for season and location using SAS. The findings revealed a pattern in the minerals, with Ca being the only mineral that was unrelated to other minerals in the liver. For lead and cadmium, our mean value in liver [0.40 µg/g] was below the limit of the EU standard for cadmium [0.50 µg/g], while in meat and liver, lead contents [1.62 µg/g and 2.57 µg/g, respectively] were above the limit of the EU standard [0.10 and 0.20 µg/g, respectively]. For meat, the significantly highest positive correlations were observed between P and Mg [R(2) = 0.928], Fe and Mn [R(2) = 0.860], and Co and Mn [R(2) = 0.821]. For rumen tissues, P and Mg were highly correlated [R(2) = 0.958] as well as Zn and Mg [R(2) = 0.857], Zn and P [R(2) = 0.836], and Fe and Ca [R(2) = 0.802]. As a result, a region and season reflect variations in mineral concentrations in SA during the summer and winter seasons. Further intensive research is needed to investigate the minerals’ biological mechanisms in camels under different environmental conditions.