Concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in Blood, Hair and Semen of Stallions in Finland

Turkan Oztas; Melih Akar; Juhani K. Virkanen; Christoph Beier; Sandra Goericke-Pesch; Olli Peltoniemi; Maria Kareskoski; Stefan Björkman

doi:10.1016/j.jtemb.2025.127633

Concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in Blood, Hair and Semen of Stallions in Finland

Turkan Oztas, Melih Akar, Juhani K. Virkanen, Christoph Beier, Sandra Goericke-Pesch, Olli Peltoniemi, Maria Kareskoski, Stefan Björkman

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

Abstract

Heavy metal contamination poses significant environmental and health risks to both humans and animals. This study investigates the concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) in blood, hair, and semen samples collected from 16 breeding stallions in Western Finland to assess whether concentrations in hair and serum samples represent concentrations in semen. The analysis was conducted using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) system. Results showed that hair samples exhibited the highest concentrations of heavy metals, particularly Pb and As, while semen showed the lowest levels. No significant correlations were found between the concentrations of heavy metals in blood and semen, or between hair and semen, indicating that blood and hair may not reliably predict metal content in semen. This study is the first to compare Pb, As, and Cd levels in hair, blood, and semen of Finnish stallions and highlights hair as a promising non-invasive biomarker of heavy metal exposure. The results underline hair's potential as a reliable long-term biomarker due to its ability to accumulate metals over time.

Original language	English
Article number	127633
Journal	Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology
Volume	89
Number of pages	7
ISSN	0946-672X
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2025.127633
Publication status	Published - Jun 2025
MoE publication type	A1 Journal article-refereed

Fields of Science

Environmental pollution
Heavy metals
Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry
Male reproductive health
Stallion
413 Veterinary science

Access to Document

10.1016/j.jtemb.2025.127633Licence: CC BY

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0946672X2500046X

Cite this

@article{13eb4b80b219471dbc493c4a2cfd5ab0,

title = "Concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in Blood, Hair and Semen of Stallions in Finland",

abstract = "Heavy metal contamination poses significant environmental and health risks to both humans and animals. This study investigates the concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) in blood, hair, and semen samples collected from 16 breeding stallions in Western Finland to assess whether concentrations in hair and serum samples represent concentrations in semen. The analysis was conducted using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) system. Results showed that hair samples exhibited the highest concentrations of heavy metals, particularly Pb and As, while semen showed the lowest levels. No significant correlations were found between the concentrations of heavy metals in blood and semen, or between hair and semen, indicating that blood and hair may not reliably predict metal content in semen. This study is the first to compare Pb, As, and Cd levels in hair, blood, and semen of Finnish stallions and highlights hair as a promising non-invasive biomarker of heavy metal exposure. The results underline hair's potential as a reliable long-term biomarker due to its ability to accumulate metals over time.",

keywords = "Environmental pollution, Heavy metals, Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, Male reproductive health, Stallion, 413 Veterinary science",

author = "Turkan Oztas and Melih Akar and Virkanen, {Juhani K.} and Christoph Beier and Sandra Goericke-Pesch and Olli Peltoniemi and Maria Kareskoski and Stefan Bj{\"o}rkman",

year = "2025",

month = jun,

doi = "10.1016/j.jtemb.2025.127633",

language = "English",

volume = "89",

journal = "Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology",

issn = "0946-672X",

publisher = "Elsevier GmbH",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in Blood, Hair and Semen of Stallions in Finland

AU - Oztas, Turkan

AU - Akar, Melih

AU - Virkanen, Juhani K.

AU - Beier, Christoph

AU - Goericke-Pesch, Sandra

AU - Peltoniemi, Olli

AU - Kareskoski, Maria

AU - Björkman, Stefan

PY - 2025/6

Y1 - 2025/6

N2 - Heavy metal contamination poses significant environmental and health risks to both humans and animals. This study investigates the concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) in blood, hair, and semen samples collected from 16 breeding stallions in Western Finland to assess whether concentrations in hair and serum samples represent concentrations in semen. The analysis was conducted using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) system. Results showed that hair samples exhibited the highest concentrations of heavy metals, particularly Pb and As, while semen showed the lowest levels. No significant correlations were found between the concentrations of heavy metals in blood and semen, or between hair and semen, indicating that blood and hair may not reliably predict metal content in semen. This study is the first to compare Pb, As, and Cd levels in hair, blood, and semen of Finnish stallions and highlights hair as a promising non-invasive biomarker of heavy metal exposure. The results underline hair's potential as a reliable long-term biomarker due to its ability to accumulate metals over time.

AB - Heavy metal contamination poses significant environmental and health risks to both humans and animals. This study investigates the concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) in blood, hair, and semen samples collected from 16 breeding stallions in Western Finland to assess whether concentrations in hair and serum samples represent concentrations in semen. The analysis was conducted using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) system. Results showed that hair samples exhibited the highest concentrations of heavy metals, particularly Pb and As, while semen showed the lowest levels. No significant correlations were found between the concentrations of heavy metals in blood and semen, or between hair and semen, indicating that blood and hair may not reliably predict metal content in semen. This study is the first to compare Pb, As, and Cd levels in hair, blood, and semen of Finnish stallions and highlights hair as a promising non-invasive biomarker of heavy metal exposure. The results underline hair's potential as a reliable long-term biomarker due to its ability to accumulate metals over time.

KW - Environmental pollution

KW - Heavy metals

KW - Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

KW - Male reproductive health

KW - Stallion

KW - 413 Veterinary science

U2 - 10.1016/j.jtemb.2025.127633

DO - 10.1016/j.jtemb.2025.127633

M3 - Article

SN - 0946-672X

VL - 89

JO - Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology

JF - Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology

M1 - 127633

ER -