Macrominerals
are those needed in relatively large amounts, with requirements expressed as % of the diet (even if that value is a small decimal number).The macrominerals are: Ca, P, Mg, Na, Cl, K, and S
Trace minerals
are those needed in small amounts, with requirements usually expressed as ppm (parts per million of the diet).The trace minerals are Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, I, Se, Mo, Co, Cr, and F, which I consider unequivocally required.
Some consider that B and Si are required, and further, there is some evidence for Al, As, Cd, Ni, V, Sn, Br, Pb, and Li, although I do not consider their essentiallity established. Those in the previous list are sometimes called Ultra Trace elements, and if they are required, it is in such minute amounts that normal environmental contamination exceeds the requirement, making the question of their being essentail only interesting academically.
The abbreviations stand for: Ca (calcium), P (phosphorus), Mg (magnesium), Na (sodium), Cl (chloride), K (potassium), S (sulfur), Fe (iron), Zn (zinc), Mn (manganese), Cu (copper), I (iodine), Se (selenium), Mo (molybdenum), Co (cobalt), Cr (chromium), F (flouride), and Al (aluminum), As (arsenic), Cd (cadmium), Ni (nickel), V (vanadium), Sn (tin), Br (bromine), Pb (lead), Li (lithium).
Most of the calcium is in the bones, which serve as a large reservoir of calcium for the body.
Calcium is very inter-related with phosphorus, so the Ca:P ratio is very important.
Deficiency Disease : rickets in the young, osteomalacia.
ALSO: required for the blood to clot, and muscle contraction.
Level of Ca in the blood is closely controlled. The parathyroid gland closely monitors the level of Ca and secretes PTH if the level falls too low. PTH is a slow, long-acting hormone that draws Ca from the bones and acts elsewhere to raise blood Ca. If the level of Ca is too high, calcitonin is secreted from cells in the thyroid gland; calcitonin is fast-acting and of short duration, giving a fine level of control to blood serum Ca level.
If you continue to provide a stimulus for PTH secretion for a long time, by eating a low Ca diet, probably by switching from drinking milk, you activate the mechanisms for maintaining blood Ca level at the expense of the bones. The most vascular bones of the body include the Dura Dentes, the bones that hold the teeth in place. If you continue on a low calcium diet for a long time (teen years through middle age), especially on a high phosphorus diet (lots of meat), YOUR BONES ARE GOING TO ROT AND YOUR TEETH ARE GOING TO FALL OUT!
In dairy cattle especially, as they begin a heavy lactation, they may not be able to adapt to the sudden out-flow of calcium into milk and may exhibit milk fever. It is a temporary low level of Ca in the blood.
Phosphorus is one of the more expensive things in the diet. It is also part of bone, but it's needed in lots of places in metabolism also, and in phospholipids and other complex molecules. It's also involved in the energy metabolism in the body in high-energy phosphate bonds.
Cheat the animal on phosphorus and it will eat poorly, grow slowly, and you'll lose money. Feed too much and you'll lost money because it's expensive, and it will pollute the environment.
Lots of the phosphorus present in grains is tied up in phytate phosphorus. That can be utilized by ruminants, but not very well by nonruminants. We can use commercial phytase to better use the phosphorus in feeds, and that is becomming a more common thing to do.
Deficiency of Phosphorus: rickets in young, osteaomalacia in older animals.
Phosphorus interacts with calcium, so you must have the right ratio of the two.
HENCE, there are 4 ways of having a nutrition problem result in rickets:
Magnesium is also found in bones, but at much lower levels than Ca and P. Magnesium is involved in many biochemical reactions in the body as a catalyst.
Grass tetany
in calves can be prevented by maintaining high Mg status.These three elements are primarily involved in osmotic balance in the body and acid base balance.
Sodium is the main cation outside of cells. Cells work hard to pump sodium out, and part of their proper function depends on their doing so (for example, nerve excitement). Potassium (K) replaces the Na.
The main source of sodium for animals is salt. There is not enough sodium in natural feedstuffs, though there is no requirement for salt per se.
Lack of salt will cause poor production, poor growth, and poor appetite.
Increasing the salt level in sow's diets from 0.25% to 0.5% increases litter size by 1/2 pig per litter. Hence, you can't feed the same lower salt level that is satisfactory for growing/finishing pigs to sows.
Chloride is the primary anion, balancing sodium, potassium, and other cations.
Chloride is needed by animals, but it's need is met automatically by salt if salt is fed to meet the sodium requirement.
Chloride deficiency is rare, and never occurs with salt in the diet. Without salt, most diets contain Cl as part of another compound, such as choline chloride, potassium chloride, or some other compound. On rare instances, in purified diets, chloride deficiency has been observed.
Potassium is the primary cation inside of cells. It is required by animals, but usually in sufficient supply in natural feedstuffs. This is not always the case, however, and especially ruminant diets containing high grain levels may need supplementation.
Sulfur is required because it is part of some very important organic molecules, but is not needed in the inorganic form.
Sulfur is part of the amino acids methionine and cystine (also cysteine), and the vitamins biotin and thiamine. It is important in connective tissues, and birds have higher requirements because of the loss in losing feathers.
Supplementing a pig with inorganic sulfur will do no good. However, because the microbes in the rumen can incorporate it into organic molecules, ruminants can be supplemented with flowers of sulfur (99.5% S) or sodium sulfate (9.95% S).
Part of the hemoglobin molecule. Deficiency: anemia.
Also part of many enzymes, like cytochromes.
Unlike all other elements, body controls level by absorbing very little unless needed, but does not excrete it very well. Therefore, hemochromatosis can occur in individuals with errors of metabolism in iron absorption.
Copper is needed in order to use iron, so a deficiency can lead to anemia. It is also needed for connective tissue formation, so deficiency symptoms include steely wool in sheep and swayback in lambs. Also, deficiency includes severe scouring. Of course, poor growth, etc. Also bone disorders.
Sometimes fed at high levels (125 - 250 ppm) for an antibiotic-like growth response in pigs.
Copper is very toxic to sheep, so they should not be supplemented with trace minerals intended for other species.
Deficiency results in parakeratosis in pigs. Fed at high levels to nursery pigs for growth stimulation. Pigs need quite a bit more than other species seem to.
Deficiency similar to a fatty acid deficiency, with skin problems.
Needed in humans for normal sexual maturation.
Newest thing is zinc in lozenges for reducing severity and duration of colds. One form of zinc, zinc picolinate, has been used to attempt to increase leanness in pigs.
Prevents perosis (slipped tendon) of chickens (choline also prevents this). Necessary for normal bone and connective tissue.
Prevents goiter. Is part of the thyroxine molecule, a hormone from the thyroid. In a deficiency the animal cannot make thyroxine and keeps producing the precursor, resulting in gointer. Deficient in the Great Lakes area. Supplement in iodized salt or in trace mineral premixes. It needs to be in a stabilized form.
Selenium was first thought to be carcinogenic, due to an erroneous report, so the FDA regulated it.
Selenium is very toxic at low levels, so great care must be taken in its use. Feed only at FDA approved levels (3 ppm maximum for pigs; poultry).
Some areas of the world (and U.S.) are high Se areas, where it may be toxic in feeds, and some plants are toxic by virtue of accumulation of selenium.
Interacts with Vitamin E
; the correct level of both is the best advice, but Se spare Vitamin E and visa versa.Most of the deficiency symptoms of Se are shared with Vitamin E: including sudden death of fast growing young pigs.
Required, because it is part of an enzyme system, but no known deficiency disease.
Very toxic, and most concern with it has been with toxicity.
Cobalt is part of the Vitamin B12 molecule. It prevents pernicious anemia (pernicious means "leading to death").
Nonruminants need Vitamin B12; ruminants can use cobalt and let the bacteria use it to manufacture B12.
Symptoms are those of wasting, just like starvation.
Chromium is involved in carbohydrate metabolism. Requirements are very low. Higher levels have been used to attempt to increase leanness in pigs, but that data is not yet convincing.
Fluorine is usually associated with toxicity in animals. There are areas of the world with high fluoride levels that cause toxicity, which involves abnormal softening of the bones. Ironically, at lower levels, fluorine improves the bone, making it more dense.
Rock phosphate, used for plant fertilizer, contains high, toxic levels of fluorine, and must be defluorinated before use as livestock feed (making it no longer inexpensive).
In humans, F is beneficial in preventing tooth decal if used at the right level; that is 1 ppm in public water supplies. Higher levels are used in toothpastes, etc.