Reducing the potential copper toxicity of concentrates to sheep by the use of molybdenum and sulphur supplements

A high copper (Cu) diet (45.3 μg Cu/g DM) was given to three groups of animals, ♂ or ♀ Scottish Blackface and ♂ Finnish Landrace lambs, without added molybdenum (Mo), or with 2, 4, 8 or 16 mg Mo/kg DM added in a 3 × 5 factorial experiment lasting 18–27 weeks. Sodium sulphate, providing 2 g S/kg, was added with each Mo supplement.Six of the nine lambs not given supplementary Mo + S died of Cu poisoning but those given Mo + S survived. Histological evidence of subclinical hepato-toxicity was found in Mo + S supplemented lambs but it decreased in severity as the level of added Mo increased. Plasma aspartate amino-transferase (PAAT) concentrations were elevated in unsupplemented lambs from week 9 and in lambs given 2 mg Mo/kg from week 12 but they remained normal in lambs given 4–16 mg Mo/kg DM. Successive increments in dietary Mo reduced the increase in liver Cu after 18–20 weeks from 1450 to 735, 483, 445 and 131 μg/g DM. The proportion of ingested Cu (y%) retained in the liver was related to dietary Mo (x, mg/kg DM) by the equation y = 2.6 ? 1.66 log x ± 0.21 (r = 0.98; 2 d.f.).Finnish Landrace lambs retained 50% less Cu in their livers, had lower PAAT levels and showed less histological evidence of liver damage than ♂ Scottish Blackface lambs. The latter had higher PAAT levels and a higher mortality from Cu poisoning than ♀ Scottish Blackface lambs although the two sexes retained similar proportions of ingested Cu in their livers.The results are discussed in relation to the practical use of Mo + S to prevent Cu poisoning in sheep.