Zinc in Animal Nutrition
January 1993
TLDR Zinc is crucial for animal health, and diets often need zinc supplements to prevent deficiency.
Zinc was recognized as an essential trace element for both humans and animals, playing numerous vital roles in the body. Zinc deficiency could lead to various symptoms, including growth depression, reproductive issues, skin lesions, immune system weakening, delayed wound healing, and hair loss. Severe zinc deficiency was rare in animal nutrition, but marginal undersupply was more common and could be influenced by factors like diet, drugs, and diseases. It was recommended that livestock diets contain 50 mg/kg of zinc, with piglets requiring twice that amount, often necessitating supplementation due to low zinc content or availability in conventional feeds. Diagnosing marginal zinc deficiency through serum or hair analysis was ineffective, with biochemical criteria such as alkaline phosphate activity and serum zinc binding capacity being more reliable indicators.