Effects of Prolonged Consumption of Water with Elevated Nitrate Levels on Certain Blood Serum Trace and Macro Elements of Dairy Cattle and Use of Clinoptilolite for their Amelioration - Juniper Publishers
Effects of Prolonged Consumption of Water with Elevated Nitrate Levels on Certain Blood Serum Trace and Macro Elements of Dairy Cattle and Use of Clinoptilolite for their Amelioration Authored by Katsoulos PD Elevated levels of nitrates in feed and water can pose a significant risk for dairy cattle, due to their cumulative action. The effect of prolonged consumption of water naturally contaminated with nitrates on the serum concentrations of calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg), copper (Cu), iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) was investigated at the present study. Concurrently, it was evaluated whether the combination of in-feed inclusion of clinoptilolite and of consumption of water naturally contaminated with nitrates, could have any effect on these elements. Two experiments were run simultaneously in two farms each. In the first trial (Trial 1), farm 1 and farm 2 were assigned into two groups according to the nitrate levels in the borehole water. The first group (n