Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
2454643 The Professional Animal Scientist 2007 6 Pages PDF
Abstract
The objective was to assess Zn status of weanling puppies fed Zn methionine (ZnMET) or Zn oxide (ZnO) in a plant-based diet and to compare these 2 Zn sources for use in puppy diets. Two blocks of 15 puppies (28 d of age) were used in a randomized complete block design. Treatments included 1) control diet (50 mg Zn/kg); 2) control + 50 mg/kg Zn from ZnO; 3) control + 100 mg/kg Zn from ZnO; 4) control + 50 mg/kg Zn from ZnMET; and 5) control + 100 mg/kg Zn from ZnMET. Dogs consumed the control diet from d 1 to 7, and then were allotted to treatments from d 8 to 28. Growth, plasma Zn, alkaline phospha-tase isoenzyme profile, and metallothionein expression were determined. Data were analyzed as repeated measures. Change in plasma Zn was greater (P < 0.05) in dogs fed diets containing supplemental Zn compared with control. Weight gain was greater (P < 0.01) for dogs fed Zn-supplemented diets compared with control. No differences were noted for hair length, weight, or Zn deposition. Zinc supplementation of 50 or 100 mg ZnMET increased (P < 0.05) total alkaline phosphatase isoenzyme activity compared with that in dogs fed a control diet. These data suggest that supplementation of Zn may be beneficial in weanling puppy diets.
Related Topics
Life Sciences Agricultural and Biological Sciences Animal Science and Zoology
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