Page 189 - 70_04

VOL. 70 (4), 961-999, 2004 VANADIUM - AN ELEMENT BOTH ESSENTIAL AND TOXIC

TABLE 9. Vanadium contents of several species of insects, molluscs and mammals
(µg/kg dry matter)

Insects (n 18) Molluscs (n 27) Mammals (n 85)

Tettigonia x 160 Arion 449 Apodemus 56
viridissima s 131 rufa
231 flavicollis 21

Silpha x 212 Helix 488 Clethrionomys 133
obscura s 157 pomatia 432
glareolus 85

Carabus x 349 Lumbricus 5450 Apodemus 137
hortensis s 351 terrestris 3251 sylvaticus 54

Armadillidium x 1674 Microtus 211
vulgare s 118 arvalis 184

The very high vanadium amounts in wood-lice and earth worms
are caused by the intake of earth. Mice and voles provide the cat
with 50 to 200 µg V/kg dry matter (16). Commercial cat food su-
pplies European cats with 40 to 200 µg V/kg dry matter. The daily
vanadium intake of the cat through commercial food varies between
3 and 12 µg (17). The vanadium concentrations in the organs of
mammals varies depending on the local vanadium offer and is not
species-specific in most cases (Table 9). The variation of vanadium
concentration in the organs of the local populations of wild rumi-
nants is similar. Wild boars with a stomach vanadium content of 350
to 1600 µg/kg dry matter store significantly more vanadium in the
analyzed tissues than wild ruminants (Table 10). Similarly to wild
ruminants, hares accumulate vanadium in ribs and livers.

TABLE 10. Vanadium contents of several tissues of animals and man
(age 11 to 89 years) (µg/kg dry matter)

TISSUE n KIDNEY LIVER RIBS

ROE DEER (n 18) 60 24 47

RED DEER (n 18) 53 25 52

MOUFLON (n 18) 49 26 58

FALLOW DEER (n 83) 111 57 76

WILD BOAR (n 11) 209 119 104

WOMEN (n 44) 28 61 40

MEN (n 43) 25 67 26

973