Mimicking Nature Boosts Trace Mineral Efficiency By Alexandra Wesker MSc MRSB RNutr RSciTec Pet Customer Technical Adviser, Trouw Nutrition GB
Effective trace mineral nutrition is vital for healthy and active pets.
bond to a partner that still allows them to be absorbed by the digestive
Ensuring minerals are supplied in the most effective form for optimum
system.
bioavailability, stability and delivery will greatly improve the supply of trace minerals to all classes of pets. Remember when you were young and the grown-ups told you to ‘eat your vegetables’? Other than the well-known addition of fibre to your diet, they also provide you with trace minerals. This natural presentation of trace minerals can bring significant benefits to the pet food industry. (Getty images)
In nature, trace minerals begin their journey when rock and soil wear down and the trace minerals literally dissolve. In nature, microorganisms in the soil bind trace minerals to chelating agents. The term ‘chelation’ refers to the act of binding the trace minerals with a favourable organic (i.e. carbon-containing) partner. Strong chelation prevents the highly reactive trace minerals from acting against nutritionally valuable compounds. The now stabilised, yet soluble, trace minerals continue their journey to the roots of plants where they are absorbed. The similarity between how plants and animals gain access to metals is striking and it is tempting to speculate that this is a general scheme in biology. (See table 1). Table 1. Mechanisms used for acquiring metals by plants and animals are strikingly similar
Essential – but dangerous Trace minerals play a role either structurally, catalytically or functionally with nearly every protein and biochemical process. Iron, zinc, manganese, copper and selenium all play essential roles in the body and supplying them effectively is crucial for healthy pets. Zinc, for example, is involved in more than 3,000 proteins in the body and in the very important processes of gas exchange, DNA transcription, redox, pH homeostasis and cell signalling. As the name implies, ‘trace’ minerals are only required in very small quantities, and even small deviations in cellular content can result in dysfunction, disease and even death. Trace minerals are some of the most tightly controlled nutrients in the body, from both a legislative and nutritional perspective.
Bound, but free Trace minerals need to be bound to reduce their derogatory effects
Mimicking nature
to other compounds, but to retain their functionality, they must remain
Trace element supply is a universal challenge across all pet species
available for absorption by the digestive system despite the bond.
and all feed types and presentations, especially where the food is
For that reason, they must remain soluble as solubility facilitates
high in fat. Trace minerals are highly reactive with other compounds,
availability. By mimicking the way metals are delivered in nature
resulting in the oxidation of fat, degradation of vitamins, or interaction
it is possible to contain their reactivity throughout production, feed
with one another leading to reduced absorption. They need a strong
storage and digestion, and deliver them just where they are needed.
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Pet Food Supplement 2021
