Levels and interactions of selected elements (Fe, Mn and Cu) in European hare tissue within different age classes from Serbian agricultural regions

Zoran Petrović; Jelena Ćirić; Saša Janković; Nikola Borjan; Dejana Trbović; Srđan Stefanović

doi:10.18485/meattech.2024.65.1.2

Zoran Petrović Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2016-5681
Jelena Ćirić Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8118-7676
Saša Janković Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5223-6993
Nikola Borjan Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4067-3755
Dejana Trbović Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9357-7789
Srđan Stefanović Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8011-5654

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18485/meattech.2024.65.1.2

Keywords: Brown hare, Elements, Kidney, Liver, Interactions

Abstract

The contents of the essential elements, iron, manganese and copper, were determined in the kidney and liver of the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus). The wild hares assayed were divided into five age classes ranging from 3 months to more than 36 months. The animals were collected during 2010/2011 from 21 different hunting terrains and originated mainly from arable and agricultural biotopes in Serbia. The mutual interactions of the met- als obtained from kidneys and livers of 157 individual hares in age groups were calculated. The mean levels of Fe, Mn and Cu (mg/kg, wet weight) registered in kidney (K) and liver (L) were: Fe (K) 103.3±42.1; Fe (L) 138.5±52.7; Mn (K) 1.75±0.66; Mn (L) 2.36±0.85; Cu (K) 3.32±0.62; Cu (L) 4.16±1.40. No statistically significant differences (p>0.05) were found between the age groups with regard to the Fe, Mn and Cu contents in the kidneys and liver of brown hares (within the same organs). Statistically significant differences between levels in liver and kidney (between different organs) were registered in all age groups (in fa- vour of higher levels in the liver over the kidney) of hares, except for Fe contents in both or- gans in the age groups of 3–6 and 12 months. Correlations between the content of elements within the age groups were determined using the Pearson test for normal distributions. The correlation patterns between the essential elements in the hare liver and kidney showed both positive and negative significant correlations among some single or different elements with- in the same organ and among the elements between the two organs. Within age groups, we registered seven different statistically significant mixed associations (FeK-FeL, CuL-MnL, MnL-FeL, CuK-MnK, MnK-FeL, CuK-FeL, and CuL-FeL).