Determination of Trace and Heavy Metals in Selected Nigeria Broiler Feeds by Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA)

To evaluate the adequacy for essential metals and to get an estimate of trace metals and heavy metals variation in poultry feed a non destructive method Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) technique was used. In this research four feeds common to the Nigerian broilers were sampled from different area of Kaduna state. The result shows that all the concentrations or mass fraction of those essential trace metals (Ca, K, Cl, Mg, Na) ranges from (6501 to 11620), (7859 to 10440), (1745 to 3678) and (683.4 to 1443) ppm (μg/g) respectively in the four samples while the heavy metals Fe, Mn, Zn, Rb in all the samples ranges from (113 to 718), (8.3 to 143.4), (41.2 to 117) and (13.6 to 23.2) ppm (μg/g) respectively, the remaining were at below 1% or below detection limit (BDL). However, the results also shows that the Fe concentration in the samples and Zn concentration in sample C and D were found to exceed the maximum acceptable limit. This makes the feeds contaminated with Fe and Zn not safe for broilers consumption since trace and heavy elements are bio-accumulative and have the tendency to be transferred to human after consumption. The obtained result can be used as primary tools to further ensure broiler feed quality control and also can work as a dataset for the close monitoring of feed contamination by governments and environmentalist.