Major and minor elements -

Major and minor elements

Major elements :

measured by mg /dl .

there are 11 major element .

the major elements are carbon , hydrogen , nitrogen , oxygen , sodium , potassium , calcium , phosphor , magnesium , sulfur and chlorine .

carbon , hydrogen and oxygen insert in chemical structure of starch and fat .

carbon , hydrogen , oxygen and nitrogen insert in chemical structure of amino acids .

sodium , potassium and chlorine are electrolytes .

Minor or trace elements :

measured by part per million (ppm) or part per billion (ppb).

there are 15 trace element.

the minor elements are iron , zinc , cobalt , copper , molybdenum , iodine , selenium , fluorine , tin , manganese , nickel , arsenic , silicon , chromium and vanadium .

-At the present time 26 of 90 naturally occurring element are known to be essential  for man and animal life .

-They are classified into major and minor elements according to their concentration in the body .

-Trace elements act primarily as catalysts in enzyme systems in the cells (metalloenzymes ).

the metal is firmly associated with protein  and there is a fixed number of metal atoms per molecule of protein . these atoms cannot be replaced by any other metal . trace elements are expressed as part per million or as part per billion.

example , total iron in adult man ranged from 4-5 gm / 70 kg body weight , copper in adult man ranged from 1-7 ppm / 70 kg body weight .

Major elements are expressed as mg /dl .

In cattle , the most important trace elements are copper , cobalt , molybdenum , iron ,zinc , ,iodine , selenium , manganese and fluorine .

In horses , the most important trace element are copper , iodine , selenium and manganese.

There are two types of the elements deficiency in animals :

The primary deficiency :

the soil , the pasture and or the diet are primarily deficient in the elements .

Types of the soils related to element defeciency : 

-sandy soil : poor in the most elements . 

-lime soil : contain excess calcium .

-saline soil : contain excess sodium chloride .

-peat soil : contain excess molybdenum .

-muck soil : contain ecxess molybdenum .

-red soil : contain excess iron .

The secondary deficiency :

The element is available in soil , pasture and diet but there are some factors interference with the bioavailability of the element  as :

1-mineral interference 

Excess calcium causes deficiency in copper , iron , cobalt ,iodine , zinc and manganese.

Excess molybdenum causes deficiency in copper and cobalt .

Using fertilizers for enrichment of soils may interference with some elements a high nitrogenous fertilizer causes deficiency of manganese in animal pastured in that soil .

2-diseases conditions associated with malabsorption. 

3-diseases conditions associated with diarrhea because diarrhea decreases absorption of elements.

3-hepatobillary diseases 

hepatobillary diseases may cause malabsorption especialy for fat soluble vitamins which in turn cause decreease bioavailability of certain element , for example decrease absorption of vit D causes decreases absorption of calcium and phosphorous resulting in their deficiency.

Tags: ruminant