Nutritional composition and heavy metal content in breast and thigh muscles of wild and intensively reared common pheasants (Phasianus colchicus)
Published Online: Apr 21, 2020
Page range: 305 - 312
Received: Jul 19, 2019
Accepted: Apr 10, 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jvetres-2020-0028
Keywords
© 2020 M. Flis et al. published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.
Introduction
Differing conditions in captive breeding and in the wild have impact on the mineral profile of the pheasant carcass and its heavy metal contents. This may be an indicator of environmental contamination. The study evaluated the nutritional composition and selected macro- and trace element contents (heavy metals in particular) in usable sections of pheasant breast and thigh muscles originating from captive breeding and wild birds.
Material and Methods
The tests were performed on the breast and thigh muscles of 20 wild and 20 farm bred birds from around Lublin, Poland, with equal sex representation. The nutrient and lead, cadmium, chromium, and nickel contents were determined using inductively-coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy.
Results
The farmed pheasants had a higher proportion of breast muscle. The thigh muscles of all birds had a higher fat content than the breast muscles (5.1 g
Conclusion
The high quality and usefulness of wild and farmed pheasant meat is confirmed. It has advantageous macro- and trace element contents and permissible heavy metal contents except for lead in wild birds. The heavy metal level can be a bioindicator of their environmental occurrence. In wild birds, the lead level may also reflect birdshot remnants.