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Dietary molybdenum as a putative copper antagonist in the horse
Author(s) -
STRICKLAND K.,
SMITH F.,
WOODS M.,
MASON J.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
equine veterinary journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.82
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 2042-3306
pISSN - 0425-1644
DOI - 10.1111/j.2042-3306.1987.tb02581.x
Subject(s) - molybdenum , zoology , horse , hay , copper , dry matter , mink , chemistry , clearance , medicine , endocrinology , biology , inorganic chemistry , paleontology , ecology , organic chemistry , urology
Summary Four horses were stabled and fed a diet of hay ad libitum , and 2 kg oats per animal per day, for a month. The basic diet was then supplemented with molybdenum, at a rate of 20 mg/kg dry matter for 4.5 months. For one month of this period the diet was supplemented also with sulphur at a rate of 1.2 g/kg dry matter. Analyses of jugular blood samples, obtained at intervals varying between two and 20 days, showed no evidence of a decline in total plasma copper or of an increased proportion of trichloroacetic acid (TCA) insoluble copper in plasma over this period. In separate studies, two other horses were given “molybdenum (molybdate, 20 to 28 mg Mo, 4 mCi per animal) per os , initially while being fed the basic diet and later while maintained on the molybdenum supplemented diet. 99 Molybdenum appeared rapidly in plasma, but the radioactivity was then quickly cleared (half‐life 7 to 10 h). The 99 molybdenum present was identified as ( 99 Mo)‐molybdate. There was no evidence of the persistent, protein‐bound ( 99 Mo)thiomolybdates which appear in ruminants. These studies indicate that increased dietary molybdenum is unlikely to interfere with copper metabolism in horses.