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Relationship of Dietary Mineral Intake to Serum Mineral Level and the Incidence of Urinary Calculi in Lambs

U. S. Department of Agriculture and Texas A&M University, College Station

Abstract

A series of four experiments involving 561 wether lambs was conducted to determine the relationships of dietary mineral intake to serum mineral levels and the incidence of urolithiasis.

The addition of disodium phosphate increased the level of phosphorus in the serum and decreased serum calcium. Diets high in calcium decreased the level of serum phosphorus and magnesium while increasing total calcium in the serum.

Increased serum levels of phosphorus and magnesium and lower levels of calcium were found in lambs which developed urolithiasis. But, as animals without calculi were found to have elevated levels of serum magnesium and phosphorus and lower levels of calcium, these conditions are interpreted to be indicative of increasing probability of development of urinary calculi, not with the actual existence of calculi per se. Serum potassium, sodium, total proteins, albumin and globulin had no apparent relationship to the development of urolithiasis.

Relating the blood data to previously reported data on urinary mineral contents suggests the development of urolithiasis may be associated with the development of metabolic conditions resulting in renal retention of magnesium, in increased urinary calcium excretion coupled with decreased serum calcium and in increased urinary excretion of phosphates that may be activated by high levels of serum phosphorus.

¹ Beef Cattle Research Branch and Sheep and Fur Animal Research Branch, Animal Husbandry Research Division, A.R.S., College Station, Texas.

² Present Address: Metabolism and Radiation Research Labratory, A.R.S., U.S.D.A., Fargo, North Dakota.

³ Departments of Animal Science and of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station.