Comparison of copper heptonate with copper oxide wire particles as copper supplements for sheep on pasture of high molybdenum content

Abstract

In sheep on pasture of high Mo content a single intramuscular injection of CuHep providing 37.5 mg Cu to adults or 25 mg Cu to weaners will raise liver Cu reserves for at least 9 and 3 months respectively and may be an acceptable alternative to COWP for preventing seasonal Cu deficiency in sheep in southern Australia.

An assessment of the safety of copper heptonate for parenteral therapy in sheep

“…No clinical signs of toxicity were apparent in Swaledale ewes given IM injections of CuHep at dosages of 3 to 4 mg Cu/kg body weight 6 or in Dormer, South African Mutton Merino or Merino sheep given CuHep subcutaneously at dosages up to 3 mg Cu/kg body weight or intravenously at dosages up to 0.6 mg Cu/kg body weight. 4 We found that a single IM injection of CuHep at a dosage of about 0.7 mg Cu/kg body weight raised liver Cu reserves for up to 9 months in mature Merino sheep grazing pasture of high molybdenum (Mo) content 7 and suggested that increasing the dosage to 1 mg Cu/kg body weight would pose little risk of toxicity. In practice, the treatment of a flock may result in doses of CuHep greater than 1 mg Cu/kg body weight being administered to sheep with normal liver Cu reserves.…”

“…Plasma samples were assayed for TCA-soluble Cu by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (GBC 906 Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer). 7 Using commercially available kits and a Cobas Mira random access analyser (F Hoffmann La Roche & Co) the rates of reduction of NADP and NAD were used to measure plasma creatine kinase (Trace Scientific Ltd, Melbourne) and glutamate dehydrogenase (E Merck, Darmstadt, Germany) activities, respectively.…”

“…Liver biopsies and necropsy tissue samples (0.1 to 0.2 g dry weight) were assayed for Cu and, apart from muscle samples, also for Fe by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. 7 Because of the variable composition of the tissue sample containing the injection site the whole sample was dissolved in nitric acid and an aliquot of known weight was assayed for Cu.…”

“…The median and 90th percentile values for the generally expected levels for Cu in sheep liver sold for human consumption are, respectively, 4.5 and 7.9 mmol/kg DM 17. With sheep of inadequate liver Cu reserves a long withholding period may not be required since IM injections of up to 0.8 mg Cu/kg body weight as CuHep failed to raise liver Cu levels above 4 mmol/kg DM 7. A Ac ck kn no ow wl le ed dg gm me en nt ts sWe are grateful to the staff at Turretfield Research Station for their cooperation in providing sheep and facilities to enable this work to be undertaken.…”

Role of PLC/IP3/IP3R axis in excess molybdenum exposure induced apoptosis in duck renal tubular epithelial cells

“…Nevertheless, in Mo excessive use, livestock and poultry are prone to toxic reactions. 2 Mo is also a severe environmental pollutant. 3 The Mo content in soil was found to be as high as 77 mg/kg in a site in Armenia.…”