ARAÚJO, J. R. B.; ARAÚJO, João Ricardo Barbosa.
Resumo:
Minerals are involved in almost all metabolic pathways in the animal organism, with important functions in reproduction, growth, energy metabolism and other vital physiological functions. Sodium deficiency is, along with phosphorus, one of the most frequent in all Brazilian regions. The signs of deficiencies can be varied, from looking for salt to motor incoordination, weakness, cardiac arrhythmias and death. Perversion of appetite and reduced growth are the first symptoms encountered. Sodium chloride (common salt) is used as a flavoring agent to limit the consumption of mineral supplements. Knowing the consumption of common salt in different species is essential for the formulation of mineral supplements, as it allows calculating the concentrations of the other components of the supplement. The objective of this research is to know the consumption of common salt in a semi-intensive production system of cattle in the semi-arid region of Paraíba, and to help future works in the formulation of mineral supplements suitable for the studied region. The work was carried out in a productive unit of the Tubarão settlement, in the municipality of Patos - Paraíba. A total of 22 cattle, adults and young, mixed breed, reared in a semi-intensive manner were used. A known amount of common salt was offered in a trough and every ten days the salt that was not consumed was collected and weighed, thus obtaining the amount of salt ingested in the period. The average daily consumption of common salt was 30.27g/day for the 22 cattle in the experiment. The consumption of salt in the studied property demonstrates that in the semi-arid region there is a sodium deficiency. A consumption of common salt during the dry season was lower than the rainy season. The value of 30g per head can be used as a basis for calculating the supply of other minerals that are considered deficient or that deficiencies are suspected.
