L14. Bovine Nirtrate Poisoning Flashcards
Nitrate Nitrogen Absorption:
Plants
nitrate
Nitrite, urea, ammonia
Gaseous N2 is not available unless the plant possessses nitrogen fixing systems
Nitrate Nitrogen Absorption
Nutrate uptake is controlled by 2 systems:
Constitutive, low affinity transport system (LATS)
Inducible, high affinity transport system (HATS)
HATS is ATP dependent
Fate of nitrate in the plant
- To be useful to the plant for protein production, nitrate must first be reduced to ammonium by nitrate reductase (NR) enzymes
- ammonium is incorporated into amino acids and protien
- Excess ammonium is converted to ammonia and released into the air
- NR production is suppressed when there is reduced protein production
Risk factors for nitrate accumulation:
plant species
crop grasses, weed grasses, broadleaved annual weeds
Risk factors for nitrate accumulation:
Time of year
higher risk during growing season
Risk factors for nitrate accumulation:
High soil nitrogen
fertilized fields
Enclosures that previously had high animal densitites
Risk factors for nitrate accumulation:
Environmental conditions that reduce / stop plant growth
summer drought
persistent cloudiness or plants growing in shade
Unseasonal hot or cold weather
Nitrate
Anything that stunts the growth of hte plant will increase nitrate accumulation in the lower part of the plant
Phenoxy acid derivative herbicides like 2,4-D,a nd 2.4.5 T applied to nitrate accumulating plants during early stages will increase growth and have a high residual in surviving plants
Theses weeds will be eaten even when perviously avoided prior to spraying
Nitrogen
For corn:
higher concentration the lower you go
Nitrate levels are not reduced by drying and baling
Ensiling process reduces nitrate ~40-50%
Forage
THe difference is in the rate at which nitrate is released in the rumen liquid
On a dry matter basis hay is consumed per kg dry matter much more rapidly than that from fresh forage
Nitrate is released more rapidly form the cells of hay than from fresh forage
The nitrate from fresh gas enters the rumen more gradually and so the absorption of nitrite takes place at lower rates
Effect of summer drought
Other sources of nitrate/nitrite
- Contaminated water
- fertilizers
- septic tanks
- Some soils are naturally high in nitrates/nitrites
- Fertilizer spills, inapporpriate use, or careless storage
Fate of nitrate in the animal
Ruminants:
- nitrate is reduced to nitrite by rumen microbes
- this is a rapid, high capacity process
- Nitrite is further reduced to ammonia and released into the air by eructation
- this is a less efficient process
- In nitrate production rates are high it accumulates and gets absorbed
Fermenting monogastrics are intermediate in nitrate reducing efficiency
Non-fermenting monogastrics, nitrate reduction is negligible
Toxic effects of nitrate
Nitrate salts are mildly irritating
May cuase signs of GI irritation at high concentrations: Salivation, colic, diarrhea, vomiting in some animals
GI irritation may be the the dominant effect in ruminants when rumen mircorbial avitivity is low
Toxic effects of nitrite
- Nitrite oxidizes hemoglobin to methemoglobin
- when the metHb reductase capacity of RBC’s are overwhelmed, MetHb concentrations rise
- Increased MetHb reduces the oxygen carrying capacity of blood
- 30-4-% metHb causes mild clinical signs
- >70% MetHb causes severe clinical sings and death
- Fetuses and neonates are most sensitive
- poisoning can occur in monogastric neonates drinking nitrite contaminated well water
- Low level, but persistent nitrite exposure is associated with:
- impaired Vit. A function
- Endocrine Abnormalities (Thyroid)