Vitamin Requirements of Beef Cattle
There is a biblical reference to the fact that “cattle were not able to see because there was no green grass for them to eat.”
So possibly an awareness of this fact may represent some of the very earliest knowledge of the science of nutrition.
However, there is a long period from that biblical beginning until the four decades between 1910 and 1950 when so much knowledge concerning vitamins was uncovered.
It is now more than four decades since the last recognized vitamin – vitamin B12 – was discovered.
Generally, the vitamins are now classified into “fat soluble” and “water soluble” groupings. This method of classification is largely a physical one and does not reveal much more about the vitamins than their solubility characteristics.
Fat soluble vitamins contain only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen while the water-soluble vitamins –excepts inositol and vitamin C – also contain, nitrogen, sulfur, or cobalt.
It is generally accepted that animals with a developed rumen can synthesis all of the recognized water-soluble vitamins of their diet contains all the elements needed.
A good example of this affect is for a cobalt deficiency, in which cattle are unable to synthesize vitamins B12 for which cobalt is an essential constituent.
Such cattle will show varying symptoms of anemia, since vitamin B12, is needed for normal levels of hemoglobin.
Veterinarians often administer supplemental B vitamins as a part of a “stress pack” when ruminant animal need special attention, considering that a less than normal rumen may not be capable of synthesizing B vitamins at a normal rate.
Vitamin Requirements of Beef Cattle
