Open AccessVitamin-mineral supplements do not guarantee the minimum recommendations and may imply risks of mercury poisoning in dogs and cats
Author(s) -
Rafael Vessecchi Amorim Zafalon,
Mariana Pamplona Perini,
Thiago Henrique Annibale Vendramini,
Vivian Pedrinelli,
Mariana Fragoso Rentas,
Isabela Benelli Morilha,
Lucas Ben Fiuza Henríquez,
Renata Maria Consentino Conti,
Márcio Antônio Brunetto
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0250738
Subject(s) - selenium , vitamin , mercury (programming language) , reference daily intake , dietary reference intake , potassium , chemistry , micronutrient , medicine , food science , toxicology , nutrient , biology , biochemistry , organic chemistry , computer science , programming language
Given the importance of using the vitamin-mineral supplements to guarantee the minimum nutritional recommendations for pets in homemade foods, and hypothesizing that these products may contribute to toxic metals contamination, the present study aimed to determine the concentrations of essential minerals and toxic metals in vitamin-mineral supplements available in the Brazilian market and calculate if the amount recommended by the manufacturer guarantees the minimum recommendations of NRC (2006) and FEDIAF (2020), as well as calculating the amount of toxic metals that animals would consume, according to the amounts recommended by the manufacturer. Seven vitamin-mineral supplements were analyzed. The determination of essential minerals and toxic metals was performed using ICP-OES. Comparisons were made with the minimum recommendations for essential minerals, and with the maximum tolerated levels of toxic metals established by the FDA (2011), descriptively. Most of the vitamin-mineral supplements, in the quantities recommended by the manufacturers, do not guarantee the minimum recommendations of NCR (2006) and FEDIAF (2020) for the following elements: calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, selenium, and zinc. Only one supplement had detectable selenium concentrations. Three supplements provided more than 0.02mg of mercury/kg of body weight, the safe upper limit used to establish the maximum tolerated level of this element. It is concluded that most vitamin-mineral supplements do not meet the minimum recommendations for most essential minerals and, if formulated by untrained professionals, even with supplementation, homemade foods may still be nutritionally deficient. Furthermore, some vitamin-mineral supplements analyzed may imply risks of mercury poisoning in pets.