Recent progress in exploring the essentiality of the ultratrace element lithium to the nutrition of animals and man

Abstract

A lithium content below 1.7 mg/kg diet dry matter (DM) had a particular effect on the growth, reproduction performance, wellness and mortality of goats. The significant shift of the sex ratio of kids toward females, reduced monoaminooxidase activity in the liver, and increased creatine kinase activity (a stress indicator) are also interesting results. The normative lithium requirement of animals (goats, pigs) amounts to < 2.5 mg/kg diet DM, while that of adult humans might amount to < 200 μg/day.