Effects of dietary copper on elemental balance, plasma minerals and serum biochemical parameters of growing-furring male mink ( Mustela vison )

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to study the effects of different levels of dietary copper on copper and zinc balance, plasma minerals and serum biochemical parameters of mink in the growing-furring periods. One hundred and five standard dark male mink were randomly assigned to seven groups with the following dietary treatments: basal diet with no supplemental Cu (Control); basal diet supplemented with either 6, 12, 24, 48, 96, or 192 mg/kg Cu from copper sulfate, respectively. The average daily gain (ADG) linearly (P = 0.0026, P = 0.0006) responded to increasing levels of Cu; maximal growth was seen in the Cu24 group. Feed efficiency tended to improve with the increase of dietary copper level (linear P = 0.0010, quad, P = 0.0011). Fecal copper, urinary copper, retention copper responded in a linear (P < 0.05) fashion with increasing level of Cu. The effect of level of Cu was linear (P < 0.001) for plasma Cu concentration. The serum glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase (GOT) and glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT) activities were increased linearly (P < 0.05) with dose of Cu, but serum total protein (TP) and albumin (ALB) concentrations decreased linearly (P < 0.05) as dietary copper levels increased. Effect of level of Cu was linear (P < 0.001) for serum ceruloplasmin (CER) concentration or Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase (Cu-Zn SOD) activity. Supplemental dose of Cu linearly decreased serum triglyceride (TG) (P = 0.011) and total cholesterol (TC) (P = 0.007). Our results indicated that the activity of Cu-dependent enzymes was enhanced by increasing dietary Cu concentration and that supplementation of Cu in the diet of mink could alter the plasma lipid profile and copper concentration.

Serum Analytes of American Mink (Neovison Vison) Challenged with Aleutian Mink Disease Virus

“…Food restriction, for instance, decreased the plasma GLU concentration in mink [ 34 , 39 , 99 ], but was not affected by the high or low protein diets in mink [ 45 ]. The overall mean CHOL in the current study (6.49 mmol/L) was within the range of values (3.98 to 9.27 mmol/L) reported in healthy mink supplemented with seven levels of copper [ 100 ], and is consistent with finding of a previous study indicating that AMDV infection had no effect on blood CHOL [ 33 ]. Plasma CHOL concentration significantly increased after food availability following food restriction in mink [ 34 , 39 ].…”

Editorial: Nutritional Intervention for the Intestinal Health of Young Monogastric Animals

“…Moreover, intestinal health is a complex field combining the nutrition, microbiology, immunology, and physiology of animals. Challenges in intestinal health directly influence nutrient digestion and absorption ( 4 , 12 , 13 ), which in turn reduces feed efficiency and increases susceptibility to enteric diseases ( 14 , 15 ).…”