F. HARTMANN

J. B. J. van RYSSEN

The interrelationship in metabolism between dietary selenium (Se) 
and copper (Cu) was investigated 
in sheep receiving a diet with or without sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3). 
A sheep finishing diet, 
containing 0·3 mg Se/kg DM and 7·4 mg Cu/kg DM, and 
supplemented with 
1·0 mg Se (as Na2SeO3) 
and/or 15·0 mg Cu (as CuSO4) and/or 40 g 
NaHCO3 per kg feed, was fed to young ewes for a period 
of 64 days. Hepatic Cu concentration and net accumulation were not affected 
by NaHCO3 
supplementation. Furthermore, no evidence was found in blood, tissues or 
faeces to show that 
NaHCO3 influenced Se metabolism. However, hepatic Cu concentration 
was raised from 354 to 
422 mg/kg DM (P&lt;0·05) when the diet was supplemented 
with 1 mg Se/kg DM, independent of the 
level of dietary Cu. Furthermore, hepatic Cu retention was significantly 
(P&lt;0·05) influenced by a 
Se × Cu interaction, namely when the diet was supplemented with 
15·0 mg CuSO4 or 
1·0 mg Na2SeO3 /kg DM or both, 0·084, 
0·081 and 0·088 of the dietary Cu respectively was retained 
in the liver, compared to 0·047 in the sheep on the basal diet. In 
addition, supplementation with Se 
and Cu together increased hepatic Se concentration to a greater extent 
(P&lt;0·001) than when Se 
alone was added to the feed (3·65 v. 5·17 mg Se/kg DM 
respectively). The concentration of Se in both 
muscle tissue and in rumen bacteria was raised (P&lt;0·001) 
by Se supplementation, but more so 
(P&lt;0·05) in both cases when Cu was not added to 
the diet. Interactions between Se and Cu were not 
influenced by NaHCO3 supplementation in the conditions 
of this study.</jats:p

Metabolism of selenium and copper in sheep with and without sodium bicarbonate supplementation

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