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Effects of Nickel Supplementation on Antioxidant Status, Immune Characteristics, and Energy and Lipid Metabolism in Growing Cattle

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Abstract

Nickel (Ni) has not been elucidated as an essential mineral in dairy animals, though in plants and lower organisms, its role in activation of urease enzyme is well known. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Ni supplementation on intake, growth performance, urease activity, antioxidant and immune status, and energy and lipid metabolism in growing cattle. Eighteen growing Hariana heifers were randomly allocated into three groups on body weight (125 ± 3.0 kg) and age basis (10 ± 2.0 months). Feeding regimen was similar in all the groups except that treatment groups were supplemented with 0.0 (Ni0.0), 1.5 (Ni1.5), and 3.0 (Ni3.0) mg of Ni/kg dry matter (DM) in three respective groups. DM intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG), feed efficiency, plasma urease activity, biomarkers of antioxidant and immune status, energy and lipid metabolism, and plasma Ni levels were observed during the 90-day experimental period. There was linear increase (p < 0.05) in mean DMI and ADG without affecting feed efficiency was observed in 3.0 mg of Ni/kg DM supplemented heifers. Dietary Ni supplementation showed linear increase (p < 0.05) in mean plasma urease activity. No effects of (p > 0.05) of Ni supplementation were observed on superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity and plasma lipid peroxide (LPO) concentration; whereas, mean plasma total antioxidant status (TAS) showed linear decrease (p < 0.001) in Ni-supplemented groups. Adding Ni up to 3.0 mg of Ni/kg DM did not exert (p > 0.05) any effect on plasma total immunoglobulin and immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations. Mean plasma cortisol level showed negative association with supplemental Ni levels and concentration was found lowest (p < 0.05) in 3.0 mg of Ni/kg DM-added group. Dietary Ni supplementation did not affect mean plasma concentrations of glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA). There was a linear increase (p < 0.001) in plasma Ni concentrations as the Ni concentrations increased in the diet. The results of present study indicated that dietary supplementation of 3.0 mg of Ni/kg DM improved performance of growing cattle by increasing urease activity.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the staff of the Department of Animal Nutrition and Instructional Livestock Farm Complex, DUVASU, Mathura, India. The authors also gratefully acknowledge Dr. Atul Prakash, Dr. Arvind Tripathi, and Dr. Yajuvendra Singh for assistance during research work.

Funding

The fund for this study was provided by University under Indian Council of Agricultural Research Grant, New Delhi, India.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Animal Nutrition Department, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, U.P. Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Pashu Chikitsa Vigyan Vishwavidyalaya Evam Go-Anusandhan Sansthan (DUVASU), Mathura, 281001, India

    Anuj Singh, Muneendra Kumar, Vinod Kumar, Debashis Roy, Raju Kushwaha, Shalini Vaswani & Avinash Kumar

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  1. Anuj Singh
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Correspondence to Muneendra Kumar.

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Animal care procedures were approved (approval number, 115/IAEC/17) and conducted under the established standard of the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (IAEC), constituted as per article number 13 of the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) rules laid down by the Government of India.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Singh, A., Kumar, M., Kumar, V. et al. Effects of Nickel Supplementation on Antioxidant Status, Immune Characteristics, and Energy and Lipid Metabolism in Growing Cattle. Biol Trace Elem Res 190, 65–75 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-018-1524-6

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