Topic:Copper
Copper is an essential trace mineral that plays a significant role in various physiological processes in horses. It is involved in the formation of connective tissue, the maintenance of the nervous and immune systems, and the synthesis of hemoglobin. Copper is also a component of several enzymes, including those responsible for antioxidant defense and energy production. Horses obtain copper through their diet, and its levels can be influenced by factors such as soil composition and feed quality. Deficiencies or imbalances in copper can lead to health issues, such as developmental orthopedic disease in young horses and anemia. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the metabolism, dietary requirements, and health implications of copper in equine nutrition and management.
Influence of exercise on serum selenium and peroxide reduction system of racing Standardbreds. Blood samples were obtained from 45 racing Standardbred horses immediately before and immediately after a training jog at a commercial race track to establish reference values for serum selenium and related values of the peroxide reduction system of racing horses. Hemoglobin, hematocrit, and serum selenium increased significantly (P < 0.001), whereas RBC-reduced glutathione decreased significantly (P < 0.01) immediately after exercise. Glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase were not altered by exercise. Serum copper and magnesium were significantly increased (P < 0.01) after exercise...
Copper-induced GSH depletion and methaemoglobin formation in vitro in erythrocytes of some domestic animals and man. A comparative study. Reduced glutathione (GSH), per cent methaemoglobin and haemolysis were measured in physiologic saline suspensions of erythrocytes from sheep, goat, cattle, horse, swine and man; incubated for 24 hours at 37 degrees with and without copper sulphate (0,5 and 10 micrograms Cu/ml suspension). Formation of Heinz bodies was studied in similar experiments with sheep and swine cells only. Generally, GSH depletion developed first, followed by methaemoglobinemia and Heinz bodies, while haemolysis was limited. Both spontaneous and copper-induced GSH depletion was slow in swine erythrocytes compared to ot...
[Preliminary study of the effect of supplementation of iron, copper, cobalt and zinc on cellulolytic activity in the cecum of the pony]. We studied a caecum-cannulated pony fed hay libitum in order to determine the mineral elements likely to cause deficiencies which decrease microbial activity in the caecum. During four successive 1-month periods, we observed the effects of adding 50 mg of iron, 1 mg of cobalt, 40 mg of copper and 200 mg of zinc, respectively. Except for the introduction of zinc, which greatly diminishes cellulolytic activity measured with the nylon bag technique, there was no significant modification in that activity as shown by pH, NH3-nitrogen, total nitrogen and volatile fatty acid production (table 1). It ...
Oxidation of (horse) hemoglobin by copper: an intermediate detected by electron spin resonance. The oxidation of horse hemoglobin by Cu(II) has been followed by the changes in the electron spin resonance spectra of copper. By stopped-flow and freeze-quenching techniques, it is shown that the second-order rate constant for the binding of Cu(II) to hemoglobin is greater than 5 X 10(5) mol-1 s-1 and the apparent first-order rate for the reduction of Cu(II) to Cu(I) is 0.051 s-1. It is also shown that the binding of Cu(II) to hemoglobin is followed by an alteration of the Cu(II) spectrum, decreasing the g values. This process has an apparent rate constant of 17 s-1 and presumably involves a ...
Copper and the oxidation of hemoglobin: a comparison of horse and human hemoglobins. Oxidation studies of hemoglobin by Cu(II) indicate that for horse hemoglobin, up to a Cu(II)/heme molar ratio of 0.5, all of the Cu(II) added is used to rapidly oxidize the heme. On the other hand, most of the Cu(II) added to human hemoglobin at low Cu(II)/heme molar ratios is unable to oxidize the heme. Only at Cu(II)/heme molar ratios greater than 0.5 does the amount of oxidation per added Cu(II) approach that of horse hemoglobin. At the same time, binding studies indicate that human hemoglobin has an additional binding site involving one copper for every two hemes, which has a higher copper...
Biochemical studies on equine infectious anaemia. A description is given of an outbreak of equine infectious anaemia (E.I.A.) in Campania [at Naples and Aversa (Caserta)]; it was diagnosed by clinical, pathological and serological examinations (Coggins test). Using the serum of 45 horses with E.I.A. and 11 healthy horses (controls), numerous investigations were carried out on: enzymes, intrinsic coagulation factors, lipids and other substances. The results obtained were very interesting and show that in this disease there are significant increases in many enzymes (LDH, LAP, gamma-GT, CPK, PK and ALD) and copper. Insignificant increases were f...
Autoxidation in milk rich in linoleic acid. II. Modification of the initiation system and control of oxidation. Factors contributing to the initiation of lipid oxidation in cow's and mare's milk containing high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids were studied. Addition of H2O2 just after milking, in slight excess of the stoichiometric amounts required to destroy ascorbic acid, delayed the development of oxidized flavours in cow's milk high in linoleic acid. Hydrogen peroxide treatment followed by the addition of alpha-or gamma-tocopherols prevented lipid oxidation in cow's milk even when 0.1 mg Cu/l milk was added. When used separately in the presence of Cu these treatments were ineffective as was but...
[Studies on the activity, properties and isoenzymes of acid phosphatase in the erythrocytes of swine, horse, dog, cat, duck and chicken]. Acid phosphatase of erythrocytes of several species was investigated, with three isozymes having been recorded from swine (three types), three (two types) from horse, four (one type) from dog, two (two types) from cat, two (three types) from duck, and two (one type) from fowl. The Michaelis constant of the enzyme varied between 3.5 and 5 X 10(-4) M for the species involved. The species, however, differed slightly for the optimum pH of the enzyme. The average enzymatic activities were (5.68 +/- 0.42 for dog, 4.46 +/- 1.0 for horse, 3.8 +/- 0.24 for swine, 3.72 for cat, 2.5 +/- 0.62 for duck, an...
Levels of some chemical constituents in normal horse sera. THE chemical analyses reported in this paper arc the result of an investigation on the sera of thirty normal horses from a heavy draught horse stable in Glasgow. Determinations have been made of scrum proteins (albumin and total globulin), alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin, calcium, magnesium, inorganic phosphate and urea. Estimations of some of these constituents have already been carried out by a number of workers, but in the majority of cases the investigation has been confined to one or two constituents relevant to the problem being studied, and many of the data available are a by-product of...