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Suggested Citation:"8. Toxicity of Certain Inorganic Elements." National Research Council. 1994. Nutrient Requirements of Poultry: Ninth Revised Edition, 1994. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2114.

8
Toxicity of Certain Inorganic Elements

Current information on toxic dietary levels of inorganic elements for poultry is summarized in Table 8-1. A similar summary that describes the mineral tolerances of animals has been provided by the National Research Council (1980b). Toxicity, as defined here, is any adverse effect on performance. Reduced growth rate is the most common criterion used to indicate the specific level at which a particular mineral is toxic. Although most of the information in the table was obtained from experiments in which the mineral was added in the form of an inorganic compound, organic compounds served as the source of minerals in some reports. For instance, some of the information on the toxicity of selenium was obtained by feeding seleniferous wheat.

The toxicity of a mineral is influenced by the nature of the compound in which it is present (for example, methyl mercury is much more toxic than mercuric chloride). Toxicity may also be influenced markedly by the composition of the diet, particularly with respect to other minerals and chelating agents. Selenium included in the diet at 10 ppm reduces the growth rate, but when it is fed in combination with 1,000 ppm of silver, a level as high as 40 ppm does not reduce growth (Jensen, 1975a). Copper at a level of 800 ppm in a practical turkey diet is not toxic, but 50 ppm of copper in a purified diet reduces growth. The toxicity of copper is modified by the sulfur amino acid content of the diet. Vanadium is much more toxic in a purified diet than in a practical diet, and the toxicity is increased by adding lactose to the practical diet (Hafez and Kratzer, 1976). Conversely, vanadium toxicity is reduced by including cottonseed meal in the diet (Berg, 1965; Berg and Lawrence, 1971; Sell et al., 1986a). In many instances, a high dietary level of one mineral antagonizes another element, resulting in a physiological deficiency of minerals essential for the animal. Because many different factors affect the quantity of a mineral needed to produce toxicity, diverse observations have been reported on the toxic effects of any given mineral.

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TABLE 8-1 Toxic Dietary Concentrations of Inorganic Elements and Compounds for Poultry

Element or Compound	Species	Age	Chemical Form	Toxic Concentration (ppm)^a	Toxic Effects	References
Aluminum	Chicken	Immature	AlCl₂	500	Reduced growth	Storer and Nelson, 1968
Aluminum	Chicken	Immature	Al₂(SO₄)₃	1,000	Reduced growth	Storer and Nelson, 1968
Aluminum	Chicken	Immature	Al₂(SO₄)₃	2,200	Rickets	Deobold and Elvehjem, 1935
Aluminum	Chicken	Mature	Al₂(SO₄)₃	3,000	Reduced egg production	Hussein et al., 1989
Arsenic	Chicken	Laying hen	As₂O₅	100	Reduced body weight; reduced egg production	Hermayer et al., 1977
Barium	Chicken	Immature	BaCO₃, BaCl₂	200	Reduced growth	Taucins et al., 1969
Barium	Chicken	Immature	BaCl₂	2,000	Death	Taucins et al., 1969
Bromine	Chicken	Immature	NaBr	5,000	Reduced growth	Doberenz et al., 1965
Cadmium	Chicken	Immature	CdSO₄·H₂O	25	Reduced growth	Hill et al., 1963
Cadmium	Chicken	Immature	CdSO₄	40	Reduced growth	Hill, 1974
Cadmium	Turkey	Immature	CdCl₂	20	Reduced growth	Supplee, 1961
Cadmium	Chicken	Adult	CdSO₄	12	Decreased egg production	Leach et al., 1979
Chlorine	Chicken	Immature	Arginine·HCL, NaCl and KCl	15,000	Reduced growth	Nesheim et al., 1964
Chromium	Chicken	Immature	K₂CrO₄	300	Reduced growth	Kunishisa et al., 1966
Chromium	Chicken	Immature	Cr₂(SO₄)₃	300	Reduced growth	Kunishisa et al., 1966
Chromium	Chicken	Adult	CrCl₃·6H₂O	10	Egg quality	Jensen and Maurice, 1980
Cobalt	Chicken	Immature	CoCl₂·6H₂O	200	Reduced growth	Hill, 1974
Cobalt	Chicken	Immature	CoCl₂	100	Reduced growth	Hill, 1979
Copper	Chicken	Immature	CuO	806	Reduced growth; mortality	Mehring et al., 1960
Copper	Chicken	Immature	CuSO₄·5H₂O	800	Exudative diathesis; muscular dystrophy	Jensen, 1975b
Copper	Chicken	Immature	CuSO₄·5H₂O	500	Reduced growth; gizzard erosion	Poupoulis and Jensen, 1976
Copper	Chicken	Immature	CuSO₄·5H₂O	250	Reduced growth; gizzard erosion	Robbins and Baker, 1980a,b
Copper	Turkey	Immature	CuSO₄·5H₂O	676 (practical diet)	Reduced growth	Vohra and Kratzer, 1968
Copper	Turkey	Immature	CuSO₄·5H₂O	800 (purified diet)	Reduced growth	Supplee, 1964
Copper	Turkey	Immature	CuCO₃	50 (purified diet) 800 (practical diet not toxic)	Reduced growth	Waibel et al., 1964
Fluorine	Chicken	Immature	NaF	1,000	Reduced growth	Doberenz et al., 1965
Fluorine	Chicken	Immature	NaF	500 (similar level of F as CaF not toxic)	Reduced growth	Gardiner et al., 1959
Fluorine	Chicken	Immature	NaF	500	Reduced growth	Weber et al., 1969
Fluorine	Chicken	Immature	NaF	750	Reduced growth	Berg and Martinson, 1972
Fluorine	Chicken	Adult	NaF	1,300	Reproductive characteristics	Guenter and Hahn, 1986
Iodine	Chicken	Laying hen	KI	625	Reduced egg production, egg size, and hatchability	Arrington et al., 1967
Iron	Chicken	Immature	Fe₂(SO₄)₃	4,500	Rickets	Deobold and Elvehjem, 1935
Lead	Chicken	Immature	Pb acetate	1,000	Reduced growth	Damron et al., 1969
Lead	Chicken	Immature	Pb acetate	320	Lethargy, 50% mortality	Vengris and Mare, 1974
Lead	Chicken	Mature	Pb acetate	200	Reduced egg production	Edens and Garlich, 1983
Lead	Japanese quail	Mature	Pb acetate	10	Reduced egg production	Edens and Garlich, 1983
Magnesium	Chicken	Immature	MgO	5,700	Growth, skeletal development	Atteh and Leeson, 1983
Magnesium	Chicken	Immature	MgCO₃	6,000	Reduced growth	Chicco et al., 1967
Magnesium	Chicken	Immature	MgCO₃	6,400	Reduced growth; mortality	Nugara and Edwards, 1963
Magnesium	Chicken	Adult	MgSO₄	19,600	Reduced egg production	McWard, 1967
Magnesium	Chicken	Adult	MgCO₃	11,200	Reduced egg production	Stillmak and Sunde, 1971
Manganese	Chicken	Immature	MnCl₂·4H₂O	4,000	Reduced growth	Southern and Baker, 1983a
Manganese	Turkey	Immature	MnSO₄·H₂O	4,800	Reduced growth	Vohra and Kratzer, 1968
Mercury	Chicken	Immature	HgSO₄, HgCl₂	400	Reduced growth	Hill et al., 1964
Mercury	Chicken	Immature	HgCl₂	250^b	Reduced growth; mortality	Parkhurst and Thaxton, 1973
Mercury	Chicken	Immature	CH₃Hg dicyanamide	33	Reduced growth; mortality	Gardiner, 1972
Mercury	Chicken	Immature	CH₃HgCl	5	50% mortality	Soares et al., 1973
Molybdenum	Chicken	Immature	Na₂MoO₄	500	Reduced growth; mortality	Davies et al., 1960
Molybdenum	Chicken	Immature	Na₂MoO₄·2H₂O	350	Reduced growth	Berg and Martinson, 1972
Molybdenum	Chicken	Laying hen	Na₂MoO₄·2H₂O	500	Reduced egg production and hatchability	Lepore and Miller, 1965
Molybdenum	Turkey	Immature	NaMoO₄	300	Reduced growth	Kratzer, 1952
Nickel	Chicken	Immature	NiSO₄ or Ni acetate	500	Reduced growth	Weber and Reid, 1968

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Element or Compound	Species	Age	Chemical Form	Toxic Concentration (ppm)^a	Toxic Effects	References
Nickel	Chicken	Immature	NiCl	400	Reduced growth	Hill, 1979
Nitrate	Turkey	Immature	NaNO₃	900^b	Reduced growth; mortality	Adams et al., 1967
Nitrate	Turkey	Immature	NaNO₃	450(N)^b	No effect on meat color	Mugler et al., 1970
Nitrite	Chicken	Immature	KNO₂	658(N)	Decreased vitamin A in liver and thyroid enlargement	Sell and Roberts, 1963
Selenium	Chicken	Immature	Na₂SeO₃ + Se in wheat	10	Reduced growth	Carlson and Leitis, 1957
Selenium	Chicken	Immature	Na₂SeO₃	10	Reduced growth	Jensen, 1975a
Selenium	Chicken	Immature	Na₂SeO₃	20 (+1,000 Ca)	Reduced growth	Jensen, 1975a
Selenium	Chicken	Laying hen	Se in wheat	10	Reduced hatchability	Moxon and Wilson, 1944
Selenium	Chicken	Adult	Na₂SeO₃	5	Decreased hatchability	Ort and Latshaw, 1978
Silver	Chicken	Immature	AgSO₄	200	Reduced growth	Hill et al., 1964
Silver	Chicken	Immature	AgNO₃	900	Exudative diathesis (prevented by Se or vitamin E)	Peterson and Jensen, 1975a
Silver	Chicken	Immature	AgNO₃	900	Anemia, enlarged hearts	Peterson and Jensen, 1975b
Silver	Turkey	Immature	Ag acetate or nitrate	900	Anemia, enlarged hearts, and muscular dystrophy prevented by Cu + Se)	Jensen et al., 1974
Sodium	Chicken	Immature	Na glutamate	8,900^c	Reduced growth	Nesheim et al., 1964
Sodium	Chicken	Laying hen	Na₂SO₄	12,000^b	Reduced egg production	Krista et al., 1961
Sodium chloride	Chicken	Immature	NaCl	7,000^b	Reduced growth; mortality	Krista et al., 1961
Sodium chloride	Chicken	Laying hen	NaCl	10,000^b	Reduced egg production	Krista et al., 1961
Sodium chloride	Chicken	Adult	NaCl	40,000–60,000	Reduced egg production	Damron and Kelly, 1987
Sodium chloride	Turkey	Immature	NaCl	4,000^b	Reduced body weight; mortality	Krista et al., 1961
Sodium chloride	Turkey	Immature	NaCl	27,000	Lung congestion; enlarged kidneys; mortality	Morrison et al., 1975
Sodium chloride	Duck	Immature	NaCl	4,000^b	Reduced body weight	Krista et al., 1961
Sodium chloride	Turkey	Mature	NaCl	60,000	Reduced growth	Roberts, 1957
Sodium chloride	Turkey	Immature	NaCl	40,000	Reduced growth; pendulous crop	Harper and Arscott, 1962
Strontium	Chicken	Immature	SrCO₃	6,000	Reduced growth	Weber et al., 1968
Sulfate	Chicken	Immature	K₂SO₄, Na₂SO₄, CaSO₄	14,000	Reduced growth	Leach et al., 1960
Sulfate	Chicken	Laying hen	Na₂SO₄	8,100	Reduced egg production	Krista et al., 1961
Tungsten	Chicken	Immature	Sodium tungstate	500	Reduced growth	Teekell and Watts, 1959
Vanadium	Chicken	Immature	NH₄VO₃	8	Reduced growth	Berg, 1963
Vanadium	Chicken	Immature	Ca₃(VO₄)₂	30	Reduced growth	Romoser et al., 1961
Vanadium	Chicken	Immature	Ca₃(VO₄)₂	200	Mortality	Romoser et al., 1961
Vanadium	Chicken	Immature	NH₄VO₃ or VOSO₄	25	Reduced growth; mortality	Hathcock et al., 1964
Vanadium	Chicken	Immature	NaVO₃	5	Reduced growth	Hill, 1974
Vanadium	Chicken	Immature	NH₄VO₃	10	Reduced growth	Summers and Moran, 1972
Vanadium	Chicken	Laying hen	V in dicalcium phosphate	6	Depressed albumin quality	Sell et al., 1982
Vanadium	Chicken	Laying hen	NH₄VO₃	15	Depressed albumin quality	Berg et al., 1963
Vanadium	Chicken	Laying hen	NH₄VO₃	20	Depressed albumin quality; reduced body weight	Berg et al., 1963
Vanadium	Chicken	Laying hen	NH₄VO₃	30	Depressed egg production	Berg et al., 1963
Vanadium	Chicken	Laying hen	NH₄VO₃	50	Depressed hatchability	Berg et al., 1963
Zinc	Chicken	Immature	ZnSO₄, ZnCO₃	1,500	Reduced growth	Roberson and Schaible, 1960
Zinc	Chicken	Immature	ZnO	3,000	Reduced growth	Johnson et al., 1962
Zinc	Chicken	Immature	ZnO	800	Reduced growth; bone ash (sucrose-fish meal diet)	Berg and Martinson, 1972
Zinc	Chicken	Immature	ZnSO₄	2,000	Exudative diathesis; muscular dystrophy	Jensen, 1975b
Zinc	Chicken	Immature	ZnSO₄	3,000	Reduced growth (0.5 ppm Se in diet)	Jensen, 1975b
Zinc	Turkey	Immature	ZnO	4,000	Reduced growth	Vohra and Kratzer, 1968
^a Dietary concentrations of the elements unless specified otherwise. ^b In water. ^c Diet low in Cl^- ion.