IntelliBond has many unique characteristics which make it an excellent choice when considering trace minerals for animal feed. choice when considering trace minerals for animal feed. Trace minerals are required by all animals and although some may be tempted to overlook their value, they are vital for upholding certain functions in animals. From oxygen transport in the bloodstream to reproductive functions trace minerals play a vital role in animal health, immunity, and production. This article explains the stability of hydroxy trace minerals used in IntelliBond.
How trace mineral stability affects animal feed additives.
How stability affects nutrient leaching
Copper sulphate and zinc sulphate have weak ionic bonds that lead to dissociation and high solubility when moisture is present. This results in the leaching of important nutrients from the feed, even before it reaches the animal. Feed rations that contain water soluble sources of trace minerals, absorb water more readily. This can be seen as clumping in the premix and feed. One of the key characteristics of IntelliBond is its low solubility making it less hygroscopic and less prone to clumping.
A 5-day experiment, in which rainfall was simulated, recorded the leaching of trace minerals from animal feed for sulphates, organic minerals and hydroxy trace minerals (IntelliBond). Rainfall occurred every other day in the experiment at 2, 4 and 6 inches respectively. Each rainfall experiment provided similar data (Wiebusch et al., 2015). From glancing at the graphs below, one can see how IntelliBond’s stability had a significant impact on the reduction of trace mineral leaching.
How the stability affects clumping
Premixes that use IntelliBond are less likely to form clumps than premixes that used sulphates and organic trace minerals. To test this hypothesis, premixes were weighed before and after being placed in a humid environment for 24 hours. IntelliBond had consistently absorbed less water than the organic trace minerals and sulphate sources. (Micronutrients trial #201 8BF 128USCZM).
How stability affects oxidation
The free copper ions in copper sulphate accelerates oxidation of lipids (Miles et al., 1998), vitamins (Lu et al., 2010; Luo et al., 2005) and enzymes (Liu et al, 2005; Pang and Applegate, 2006) because of their pro-oxidative characteristics. The stability of IntelliBond, results in less oxidation and therefore more of these vitamins and minerals are preserved in the feed. As seen below, the percentage of Vitamin E in the feed remained steady with IntelliBond, after 40 days in storage.
How stability affects probiotics
Trace minerals with lower stability release their metals in an ionized form (free-form). These free ions have antimicrobial effects that negatively affect rumen microbes. The experiment below shows how the copper sulphate affected the viability of probiotics in the animal’s duodenum compared to IntelliBond (Klasing, unpublished data).
Conclusion
There are many reasons why top nutritionists prefer IntelliBond hydroxy trace minerals, with superior stability being one of these.
If you are interested in exploring the other characteristics of IntelliBond, have a look at our latest technical news.