Vitamins

1. Vitamins Lecture 6

2. Vitamins • Organic compound essential for health but only in trace amounts (ppm). • Required for normal growth and maintenance of animal life. • Function as catalyst • Enzymes or coenzymes in metabolic processes.

3. Vitamin Supplementation • Vitamin [ ] vary tremendously within sources. • In plants the source is affected by: • Harvesting, processing and storage • Species of plant • Part of plant used • In animal tissue the largest sources are: • Liver • Kidney

4. Vitamin Sources • Vitamins are generally destroyed by Heat • Exposure to air • Sunlight • Oxidizing conditions • Storage conditions that allow mold growth • Better to error on the positive side than have a deficiency

5. Classification of Vitamins • Water soluble • B vitamins and Vitamin C • B vitamins synthesized in rumen usually not needed • Not stored in body so daily supply is needed if required. • Enough found in feedstuffs • Exception – Vit.B12 not found in plants • Usually supplemented to ensure adequate amounts in diet. • Fat soluble • A, D E and K • May be stored in body so daily supply may not be needed ? • Vitamin Supplementation is very important in stressful conditions.

6. Vitamin Sources • Fat soluble vitamins – Vit. A • Carotene • Green and yellow plants Excellent source • Betacarotene maybe important factor affecting reproduction in high producing dairy cows. • Vitamin A Acetate • Vitamin A propionate • Vitamin A palmitate • Can be a problem after processing feed and exposure to air. • Pelleting can reduce vitamin A content up to 40%.

7. Vitamin Sources cont’d • Vitamin A – antioxidants added to reduce storage losses. • Cost of Vitamin A is cheap therefore should be added to diets to be safe. • Vitamin D • Ultraviolet rays activate a form of Cholesterol in an oil on the skin and converts it to a form of Vit. D which is absorbed. • Important in the metabolism and absorption of Ca • Present in D2 form in plants, D3 in animal products. • Stable unless mixed with limestone or oxidizing compounds- rapid loss in rations.

8. Vitamin Sources cont’d • Vitamin K • Synthesized and absorbed so efficiently almost impossible to cause a deficiency. • Essential for production or synthesis of prothrombin. Related to blood clotting. • Poultry is the only species that may require supplementation. • Vitamin E • Primarily, alpha tocopherol present in most feedstuffs, but highest in grem or germ oil of plants (soybean,cottonseed, corn, etc. • Antioxidant – inhibits or retard oxidation, reduce hemolysis of RBC, stabilizes polyunsaturated fatty acids • Rapidly degraded in heat, light and high trace mineral content of feed

9. General Rules of Vitamin Supplementation • Usually limiting in natural diets. • Vitamin A, D, E, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, niacin, choline, and B12 • Biotin may need supplemented in Poultry and Swine. • Vit. K synthesis may be inhibited by some feed additives. However, produced by microbes of the digestive tract.

10. Summary of Vitamins • Supplementation is usually inexpensive • Animals under stress - Vitamin requirements will change. Vitamin A from 20 – 30,000 to 50,000 IU. • Protect from the environment to reduce oxidation. • Utilizes within a couple of days once mixed with other feedstuffs. • Look up specific requirement for the species you are working with. Poultry usually require more than four footed animals.