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Sequential changes in plasma methylmalonic acid and vitamin B12 in sheep eating cobalt-deficient grass

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Abstract

Methylmalonic acid (MMA) concentrations are elevated in plasma as a result of vitamin B12 deficiency. This study reports the sequential changes in plasma MMA in lambs maintained on a cobalt-deficient pasture compared with supplemented controls. The results indicate that MMA is elevated in the early stages of deficiency, preceding the onset of loss of production and clinical signs of disease. It remains elevated as long as the lambs are unsupplemented with cobalt (Co). The most striking clinical sign was a loss of body condition as opposed to weight. The defect in the methylmalonyl CoA mutase is obviously an early defect in cobalt deficiency.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nutrition Services International, Randalstown, Co. Antrim, N. Ireland

    Desmond A. Rice

  2. Department of Agriculture, Veterinary Research Laboratories, Stoney Road, BT4 3SD, Belfast, N. Ireland

    Marian McLoughlin, W. John Blanchflower & Cecil H. McMurray

  3. Biometrics Division, Newforge Lane, BT9 5PX, Belfast, N. Ireland

    Edward A. Goodall

Authors
  1. Desmond A. Rice
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  2. Marian McLoughlin
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  3. W. John Blanchflower
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  4. Cecil H. McMurray
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  5. Edward A. Goodall
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Rice, D.A., McLoughlin, M., Blanchflower, W.J. et al. Sequential changes in plasma methylmalonic acid and vitamin B12 in sheep eating cobalt-deficient grass. Biol Trace Elem Res 22, 153–164 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02916646

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02916646

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