ABSTRACT.
Screening the elemental composition of hair in newborn calves is one of the non-invasive methods
for assessing their microelement status during prenatal ontogenesis. The aim of this study was to conduct a comparative
assessment of the microelement content in the tail hair of calves with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and without pathology. A total of 42 Simmental breed calves from the Lower Volga Region, Russia were examined within the
first day after birth: 18 with IUGR and 24 without pathology. IUGR was diagnosed based on the results of ultrasound
examination (using the Easi-Scan-3 scanner, BCF Technology Ltd., UK) of the fetus at gestational ages of 38–45, 60–
65, and 110–115 days according to a previously established and published protocol. The quantitative content of microelements (As, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn) in hair samples was determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (Nexion 300D, Perkin Elmer, USA). The results were presented as the mean value ± standard
error of the mean, in µg/g. Differences between groups were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U test for independent
samples employing IBM SPSS Statistics 20.0 software (IBM Corp., USA). In calves with IUGR, decreased contents of
Cu (5.30±0.61 vs. 7.09±0.41, p=0.018), Se (0.266±0.032 vs. 0.373±0.026, p=0.007), and Zn (75.5±12.2 vs. 104.8±6.8,
p=0.045) were found in the hair samples compared to newborns without pathology. The content of other microelements
in the hair samples did not differ significantly between the groups. Thus, the microelement composition of tail hair in
calves with IUGR has a specific profile distinct from that of newborns without pathology. The results suggest a possible
role of intrauterine deficiency of Cu, Se, and Zn in the genesis of fetal IUGR in cattle.
KEYWORDS: microelements, cattle, intrauterine growth retardation.