Clinical Feed

Horn trace element profiles of managed rhinoceros species and comparisons to matched livers and wild African rhinoceros horns

by Terri L. Roth, Sarah L. Rebolloso, Elizabeth M. Donelan, Louisa A. Rispoli, Elizabeth W. Freeman, John P. Buchweitz Rhino horn is composed of keratin which contains numerous mi

GIST

by Terri L. Roth, Sarah L. Rebolloso, Elizabeth M. Donelan, Louisa A. Rispoli, Elizabeth W. Freeman, John P. Buchweitz Rhino horn is composed of keratin which contains numerous minerals and metals that may provide insight into the species’ environment and health. Our goals were to identify horn trace elements that differ according to sex, species, and continent, and those that reflect liver loads. Samples from 82 horns representing (male.female): 25.16 black rhino, 13.16 white rhino, 6.3 greater one-horned (GOH) rhino, 0.1 Sumatran rhino, and 2.0 undetermined were analyzed for 14 trace elements: arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, selenium, thallium, and zinc. A subset of matched liver tissues (n = 21) also was analyzed for up to 12 of the elements. Horn trace element concentrations did not differ by sex ( p ≥ 0.05), but several were impacted by species and continent.

Clinical Editorial

PLOS ONE (Medicine) published a clinical update in Research Highlights on 09 Jul 2026. The item focuses on Horn trace element profiles of managed rhinoceros species and comparisons to matched livers and wild African rhinoceros horns. Review the original article for the full source wording and details.

Original source: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0353566