Methylmalonic acid excretion and incipient cobalt deficiency disease in sheep

Authors: Andrews ED, Hogan KG
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 20, Issue 3, pp 33-38, Mar 1972
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Livestock, Production animal, Ruminant, Sheep
Subject Terms: Biochemistry/chemistry, Clinical pathology, Diagnostic procedures, Cobalt/vitamin B12, Trace elements, Diet/rations/food, Nutrition/metabolism, Vitamins
Article class: Scientific Article

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Abstract: Gawthorne (1968) showed that for penned adult Merino wethers consuming a dry, cobalt-deficient ration, the excretion of methylmalonic acid (MMA) in the urine of vitamin B₁₂-deficient sheep was 5 to 12 times greater than that of pair-fed, vitamin B₁₂-injected animals. However, in his experiments urinary MMA was significantly increased only when sheep became severely affected by vitamin B₁₂ deficiency. In an experiment carried out during 1966-7, Andrews et al (1970) obtained similar results using young Romney sheep grazing cobalt-deficient pastures, but in this work no information was obtained as to the time of onset of increased MMA excretion in relation to the stage of development of cobalt deficiency disease. The main purpose of the work described here was to examine this point. It was also hoped to investigate possible interactions suggested by the earlier work (Andrews et al 1970) between cobalt deficiency disease and infestation by helminth parasites. However, except for an apparent effect of anthelmintic dosing on serum vitamin B₁₂ levels, this aspect is not considered further in this paper, since, as described later, no weight response to cobalt were obtained.

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