The use of naturally occurring minerals in animal feed

• Autores: Frank Hart
• Localización: Industrial Minerals, ISSN 0019-8544, Nº. 565, 2014 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Octubre)
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The term usually applied to food prepared for domesticated livestock is 'fodder,' which is primarily composed of natural organic ingredients such as hay, straw, silage, pelleted foods, oils, grains, legumes and molasses as well as spent grain from breweries and distilleries and DDGS (distiller's dried grains with solubles), from bio-ethanol production. Frank Hart* looks into the use of naturally-occurring minerals in animal feed.

    Economically, fusarium derived mycotoxins such as zearalenone are very important as they are oestrogenic and lead to poor fertility and potentially miscarriages in breeding livestock.Simple, cost effective and safe processes by which animals may be detoxified and decontaminated are in great demand. There is intense competition from non-mineral substances. Bacteria and enzymes are commonly used. These break down the mycotoxin structure into non-toxic metabolites. Esterified glucomannan, which is obtained from the cell walls of yeast, work in a similar manner to clays by absorption. However, these ingredients are almost always combined with a clay mineral, for example 'Mycosorb', one of Alltech's best selling products, which is a blend of yeast cell wall and mineral(s).Radionuclide containment Clinoptilite/zeolite is micro-porous with a very high surface area of approximately 500 metres squared per gram (m[superscript]2 /g). It can selectively absorb molecules depending on their size. The maximum size is determined by the dimension of channels in the crystal structure, hence its description as a 'molecular sieve'. It is sold into the aquaculture industry, to shrimp and fish farms and to pet aquariums, due to its ability to absorb ammonia from water. It is also used in animal feed to absorb mycotoxins, particularly aflatoxin as well as in poultry feed to bulk excrement and absorb ammonia. Globally, China and South Korea are the biggest producers.