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Title: Studies on the essentiality of chromium in ruminants

Conference · · Fed. Proc., Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol.; (United States)
OSTI ID:5456139

Although chromium has been established as an essential trace element for certain animal species, no requirement has been shown for ruminants. Sixteen female lambs (35 kg) were used in an attempt to determine if chromium is essential in the ruminant. Animals were individually housed in all plastic pens and fed twice daily either a low chromium (100 ppb) torula yeast based diet or the basal diet supplemented with 10 ppm chromium as CrCl/sub 3/. Blood samples obtained prior to the morning feeding and 2 and 6 hr post-feeding on days 28 and 56 indicated no significant treatment differences in plasma glucose or serum free fatty acids. By day 56, serum cholesterol tended to be lower in chromium supplemented lambs (60.9 vs 71.7 mg/dl). Lambs in the chromium supplemented treatment also tended to gain more efficiently through 56 days (.130 vs .118 gain/fed). On day 84, lambs were bled after a 48 hr fast, refed, then bled again at 2 and 6 hr post-feeding. Plasma glucose and serum free fatty acids were not affected by chromium at the end of the 48 hr fast or when lambs were refed following fasting. At 84 days both total serum cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol were lower in lambs receiving supplemental chromium. These results suggest that chromium may have a biological role in the ruminant.

Research Organization:
North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh
OSTI ID:
5456139
Report Number(s):
CONF-8604222-
Journal Information:
Fed. Proc., Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol.; (United States), Vol. 45:3; Conference: 70. annual meeting of the Federation of American Society for Experimental Biology, St. Louis, MO, USA, 13 Apr 1986
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English