Combining Sulfur and Molybdenum Fertilization Increases Antioxidant Capacity of Brown Goats

A team of researchers from the Southwest University of Science and Technology recently published a paper in Biological Trace Element Research on how a combination of sulfur (S) and molybdenum (Mo) fertilization can improve the antioxidant capacity of brown goats in South China.

The team conducted fertilization treatments and grazing experiments in the Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture on the western Sichuan Plateau in Sichuan Province to evaluate the effects of sulfur and molybdenum fertilization on the antioxidant capacity of South Xinjiang brown goats grazing on copper (Cu)-contaminated pastures and to explore methods for controlling Cu contamination in natural pastures.

Located in the western part of Sichuan Province in southwest China, the western Sichuan Plateau is extremely rich in mineral resources. In the past decade, the metallurgical industry has developed rapidly, and at the same time, a large number of heavy metals have been generated in the western Sichuan plateau. Among all the heavy metals, the Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture on the western Sichuan Plateau has the highest Cu content in water, soil, and fodder. Cu is difficult to degrade in natural pastures, so it is difficult to remediate the contaminated natural pastures.

Copper pollution not only seriously damages the livestock industry but also greatly threatens human health through the food chain. The western Sichuan plateau is an important pasture for Nanjiang brown goats. These local goats are also crucial in the pillar industry of the western Sichuan plateau, mainly in the high-altitude pastures of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. Nanjiang brown goats are large in size, good in performance and meat quality, have the reproductive ability, rough feeding tolerance, and are adaptable to alpine pastures.

Twenty-four hm2 of copper-contaminated pasture was fenced and 72 healthy Nanjiang brown goats (1-year-old, 30.9 1.1 kg) were randomly divided into 4 groups (3 replicates/group, 6 goats/replicate) and assigned to the experimental pastures. The grazing experiment lasted 60 days. The results showed that the contents of N, S, Mn, Zn, and Mo in the fertilized pastures were higher than those in the control group, while the contents of Cu and Se in the fertilized pastures were lower than those in the control group.

In conclusion, the combination of S and Molybdenum fertilization did not affect the mineral content in forage, serum, and liver, but reduced the toxicity of Cu in Cu-contaminated pastures and improved the antioxidant capacity of grazing Southland brown goats in fertilized pastures.

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