Effects of Supplementing OrganicZ, With or Without Copper, on performance, Plasma Minerals and Some Enzymes activities in Mehraban Male Lambs

Twenty five lambs were used in a completely randomized design with 5 treatments to evaluate of the effects of supplementing organic zinc, with or without copper, on performance and blood parameters. The treatments consisted of: 1) basal diet without supplemental Zn and Cu; 2) basal diet + 20 ppm Zn as Zn-proteinate; 3) basal diet + 40 ppm Zn as Zn-proteinate; 4) basal diet + 20 ppm Zn as Zn-proteinate + 10 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate; and 5) basal diet + 40 ppm Zn as Zn proteinate + 10 ppm Cu as Cu-proteinate. Plasma Zn, Cu, Fe, Ca and P and serum total alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was determined on days 28 and 65. Serum total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and Cu- Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were determined on day 28. Supplementation with Cu and Zn did not alter plasma Ca and P but plasma Zn in groups supplemented with Zn treatments was increased compared to control (P < 0.05). Copper supplementation significantly affected plasma Cu levels (P<0.05). There was a significant difference between treatments for plasma Fe (P 0.05). Alkaline phosphatase activity was higher in supplemented groups with Cu and Zn compared to control (P<0.05). The SOD activity increased with supplementation of Cu and Zn (P 0.05), but TAC did not differ between treatments. Average final BW, average daily gain and feed conversion ratio were greater in Zn supplemented treatments without Cu compared to other treatments (P<0.05). The results showed that adding of 20 ppm Zn to the basal diet containing 22.47 ppm Zn and 8.6 ppm Cu increased performance of Mehraban male lambs.