Vanadium content in common feedstuffs used in tropical livestock system

The role of minerals in normal metabolism and their deficiency and excess can result in disorders in the immune system, decrease in production performance and impairment of overall health. Most minerals have well defined biochemical and nutritional roles, while others occur in trace levels in feed, but their useful nutritional role is yet to be established. Vanadium is recently reported as a newer trace element having a potential role in the biological system where it might act as a probably-essential mineral. Information on the vanadium (V) content of animal feeds used in tropical feeding systems is inadequate. The present study was carried out to quantify the level of V in commonly available animal feeds. Samples of 386 feeds were procured from different areas and analysed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The level of V in unconventional feeds (n=36) was higher than in fibrous feeds (n= 128) and concentrate feeds (n= 118). The V content among the feed samples analyzed showed a wide range from sorghum fodder to fish meal (0.99–36.88 mg/kg). The present study observed that an appreciable quantity of V is detected in all the major categories of feedstuffs. These findings would facilitate in assessing the supplementary value of tropical feeds for vanadium in livestock.