Prevention of secondary nutritional hyperparathyroidism in horses using organic minerals

• Grant number: 07/04725-9
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: April 01, 2008 - March 31, 2010
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: Alexandre Augusto de Oliveira Gobesso
• Grantee: Alexandre Augusto de Oliveira Gobesso
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Twenty four yearling horses, twelve males and twelve females, fed with a diet based on NRC (1989)will be divided in four groups to receive four different treatments: organic minerals supplementation, organic minerals and oxalic acid mixture, ionic minerals and ionic minerals and oxalic acid mixture. The objectives of the first experiment are to evaluate if the addition of oxalic acid will induce a calcium and phosphorus imbalance in the group that will receive a diet containing organic minerals as much as the group that will receive a diet containing ionic minerals. If, form that imbalance, they would develop secondary nutritional hyperparathyroidism and if the diet containing organic minerals would be efficient to avoid the development of this pathology when compared with the diet containing ionic minerals. Monthly, blood samples will be analyzed for parathormone and alkaline phosphatase, hair for calcium and phosphorus concentration. Radiographs of the third metacarpus will be taken every 30 days to determine radiographic bone aluminum equivalence. Bone biopsy of the iliac prominence will be performed to analyze calcium and phosphorus every 30 days too. The sampling period will last 150 days. (AU)