Studies on nickel metabolism: interaction with other mineral elements

Area of Science:

• Animal Nutrition
• Toxicology
• Trace Element Metabolism

Background:

• Nickel is an essential trace element for some species, but toxicity can occur at elevated dietary levels.
• Understanding nickel's toxic effects and interactions with other minerals is crucial for animal health and feed formulation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the toxic effects of high dietary nickel concentrations in young chicks.
• To determine the impact of nickel on growth, hematology, and tissue nickel accumulation.
• To examine potential interactions between nickel and other essential minerals (cobalt, iron, copper, zinc).

Main Methods:

• Young chicks were fed a semi-purified diet with varying nickel concentrations (up to 1100 mg/kg).
• Growth rate, mortality, and hematological parameters were monitored.
• Nickel concentrations in kidney and other body tissues were analyzed.
• Supplementation studies with cobalt, iron, copper, and zinc were conducted.

Main Results:

• Dietary nickel at 300 mg/kg and above significantly reduced growth rate.
• Mortality and anemia were observed at 1100 mg/kg nickel.
• Kidney nickel content increased significantly at 300 mg/kg nickel; other tissues required higher levels.
• Supplementation with cobalt, iron, copper, and zinc did not alleviate nickel toxicity symptoms.
• Cobalt supplementation exacerbated growth depression, attributed to cobalt toxicity, not nickel-cobalt interaction.

Conclusions:

• High dietary nickel induces toxicity in young chicks, affecting growth, causing anemia, and increasing kidney nickel accumulation.
• Nickel does not appear to interact with copper, iron, or zinc in alleviating toxicity at the tested concentrations.
• Cobalt toxicity, not a nickel-cobalt interaction, contributed to growth depression when co-administered.