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[ Home ] [ Cobalt ] [ Copper ] [ Iodine ] [ Manganese ] [ Selenium ] [ Zinc ] [ Trace Elements ] [ Feedback ] [ Search ] [ Contact ]
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Cobalt Co (Target Level 1.8 - 3.0ppm)Even the best grass pastures will fail to provide good nutrition to ruminants, especially sheep, on Cobalt-deficient ground. This is because without Cobalt the rumen microbes cannot synthesise Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin). Indeed, microbial synthesis appears to be the only significant source of Vitamin B12. Most important is that sheep cannot store Cobalt and therefore require a regular source in their diet - usually an expensive bolus supplement which is often found regurgitated around the pasture! By balancing the soil micronutrients, the sheep will receive the correct amount of Cobalt through the grass. Vitamin B12 is vital to the production of Glucose; without Glucose an animal literally starves to death. Cobalt also has other metabolic functions. Interestingly, pernicious anaemia in humans is caused by poor absorption of vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 is essential not only for the synthesis of Glucose but is also connected with the formation and maintenance of the myelin sheaths (nerve cell protection). Due to nation-wide deficiencies of Cobalt, the only common direct sources of Vitamin B12 are animal based and therefore not available to humans maintaining a vegetarian diet. Vegetarians take Vitamin B12 supplements (usually tablets) to ensure that they achieve the RDA (recommended daily amount) of 1.0 µg. With correctly balanced soils, vegetables and crops will have the correct amount of Cobalt to ensure the synthesis of this vital Vitamin is possible without the need for supplements.
Cobalt Deficiency Symptoms in Livestock
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