Chapter 21: Nutritional Contributions of Minerals to Humans and Animals

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Chapter 21 Nutritional Contributions of Minerals
to Humans and Animals

• Chapter overview
• Chapter 21 presents the impacts of minerals on
  animal health
• identification and major sources of minerals
• functions of minerals
• impacts of mineral deficiencies

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General Comments

• There appears to be little difference in
  requirements for the minerals between species
• Requirements can be significantly impacted by
  other organic or inorganic components of the diet
• Example phytin binds phosphorus and increases
  zinc requirement

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General Comments

• Minerals are abundant in many natural feedstuffs,
  but
• Supplementation of feeds and foods with common
  inorganic major sources of minerals is typical

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The Minerals

• Minerals are generally categorized as
• Macrominerals those required in larger amounts,
  such as Ca, P, Mg, Na, Cl, K, S
• example calcium requirement may be 0.5 in some
  diets
• Microminerals those required in very small
  amounts, such as Fe, Cu, I, Co, Zn, Mn, Se, Mo, F
• example Zn requirement may be 50mg/kg (0.005)
  in some diets

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The Macrominerals
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Calcium (Ca)

• Functions - bone and tooth formation, blood
  clotting, muscle contraction
• Deficiency symptoms - rickets, slow growth,
  osteomalacia, tetany, thin-shelled eggs
• Major sources - milk, legumes, bone meal,
  dicalcium phosphate, limestone

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Phosphorus (P)

• Functions - bone and tooth formation part of
  DNA, RNA, and many enzyme systems
• Deficiency symptoms - rough hair coat, pica, slow
  growth
• Major sources - milk, eggs, oilseeds, cereal
  grains, bone meal, dicalcium phosphate

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Magnesium (Mg)

• Functions - enzyme activator, component of
  skeletal tissue
• Deficiency symptoms - anorexia,
  hyperirritability, muscular twitching and tetany,
  profuse salivation
• Major sources - abundant in feeds, especially
  green, leafy vegetables and grains

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Sodium (Na)

• Functions - muscle contraction, maintenance of
  osmotic pressure of body fluids
• Deficiency symptoms - loss of appetite and
  weight, salt craving, soil eating,
• Major sources - common salt added to supplements
  or in free-choice blocks

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Chlorine (Cl)

• Functions - maintenance of osmotic pressure of
  body fluids, acid-base activity, production of
  HCl in stomach
• Deficiency symptoms - craving for salt, reduced
  appetite
• Major sources - common salt added to supplements
  or in free-choice block form

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Potassium (K)

• Functions - maintenance of electrolyte balance,
  enzyme activator, muscle function
• Deficiency symptoms - heart lesions, weight loss,
  reduced appetite, muscle weakness, poor wool
  growth
• Major sources - widely distributed throughout
  feeds and foods

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Sulfur (S)

• Functions - component of sulfur-containing amino
  acids
• Deficiency symptoms - slow growth, poor feed
  efficiency, slow wool growth in sheep
• Major sources - oilseed meals, forages, cereal
  grains

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The Microminerals
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Iron (Fe)

• Functions - carrier of oxygen as a component of
  hemoglobin and myoglobin, component of many
  enzyme systems
• Deficiency symptoms - anemia, diarrhea, loss of
  appetite
• Major sources - eggs, forages and grains, soil
  (example rooting by pigs in soil)

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Copper (Cu)

• Functions - erythropoiesis, component of
  coenzyme system, hair pigmentation, collagen and
  elastin synthesis
• Deficiency symptoms - depraved appetite, stunted
  growth, diarrhea, bleached hair and wool, ataxic
  gait, anemia
• Major sources - common in normal grains and
  forages

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Iodine (I)

• Functions - component of thyroxine
• Deficiency symptoms - goiter, hairless pigs and
  woolless lambs at birth, poor performance
• Major sources - added to almost all salt sources
  (iodized salt), cod-liver oil

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Cobalt (Co)

• Functions - component of vitamin B12, red blood
  cell formation, rumen microorganism function
• Deficiency symptoms - loss of appetite and
  emaciation, weakness, rough hair coat, anemia
• Major sources - inorganic cobalt supplementation
  in the diet

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Zinc (Zn)

• Functions - enzyme activator and component
• Deficiency symptoms - poor growth, feathering,
  and hatchability anorexia parakeratosis
• Major sources - widely distributed in feeds, with
  forages being major sources

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Manganese (Mn)

• Functions - growth, bone formation, enzyme
  activator
• Deficiency symptoms - lowered egg shell strength
  and hatchability, perosis in poultry, lameness
  and stiffness
• Major sources - widely distributed in cereal
  grains, oilseeds, and legumes

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Selenium (Se)

• Functions - related to vitamin E function,
  destroys peroxides (antioxidant)
• Deficiency symptoms - necrosis of liver, white
  muscle disease in ruminants
• Major sources - oilseeds and grains
• Note - excess is quite toxic

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Molybdenum (Mo)

• Functions - component of enzyme systems
• Deficiency symptoms - deficiency relatively
  unknown
• Major sources - widely distributed in feeds and
  foods
• Note - deficiency of Mo accentuates Cu toxicity,
  excess Mo reduces Cu absorption

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Fluorine (Fl)

• Functions - tooth enamel formation, prevention
  of tooth decay in humans
• Deficiency symptoms - poor enamel formation
• Major sources - fluoride added to water
• Note - narrow range of requirement excess
  causes tooth enamel abnormalities

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Other mineral considerations

• Although only produced under laboratory
  conditions, deficiency symptoms can be created
  for
• Vanadium
• Arsenic
• Nickel
• Tin