Bioavailability of Major Minerals from Mustard Cake and Groundnut Cake Supplemented Rations in Crossbred Calves

Twenty Karan Fries male calves of 6–12 month of age were selected and distributed randomly on the basis of body weight into four groups of 5 animals each. The basal ration was formulated as per NRC (2001) feeding standards and the animals in group 1 and 2 were fed on ground nut cake (GNC) and group 3–4 on mustard cake (MC) at two levels along with basal ration consisting of wheat straw and green fodder. The adaptation period consisted of 21 days followed by a 7 days metabolic trial for the assessment of bioavailability of major minerals. Apparent absorption of Ca in mustard cake fed groups (groups 3 and 4) was found to be significantly (P<0.05) higher (50.72 and 54.47%) than the GNC fed group 1 and 2 (40.92 and 42.86%). The bioavailability of P was higher (P<0.05) in mustard fed group 3 and 4 (41.63 and 46.25%) than GNC fed group 1 and 2 (35.47 and 38.31%). Similarly, Mg absorption was significantly (P<0.05) higher in group 3 and 4 (40.43 and 42.08%) than groups 1 and 2 (36.38 and 35.85%). The bioavailability or % apparent absorption of Na for GNC as well as MC, supplemented groups ranged from 89.07 to 95.99%, though slightly higher values were observed in MC fed groups. Potassium bioavailability varied from 90.11 to 90.78% in the four groups showing no significant differences due to inclusion of two different oil cakes. It can be concluded that the bioavailability of major minerals Ca, P, Mg and Na from mustard cake fed groups were significantly (P<0.05) higher than the GNC fed groups, whereas, the bioavailability of K was comparable in all groups.