Vanadium metabolism in sheep. II. Effect of dietary vanadium on performance, vanadium excretion and bone deposition in sheep.

Sixteen ram lambs were fed 0, 50 or 200 ppm supplemental vanadium daily as NH4VO3 for 90 d and coccygeal vertebrae were sampled at 0, 15, 30, 60 and 90 d after the imposition of dietary treatments. Vertebral vanadium content was elevated (P less than .05) after exposure to 200 ppm added vanadium in the diet of 15 d, but nonsignificant increases occurred thereafter. Increasing dietary vanadium increased bone ash vanadium concentration from .4 to 1.7 and 3.8 ppm in sheep fed 0, 50 and 200 ppm supplemental vanadium, respectively. In a balance study, urinary concentrations of the element also were related directly to dietary intake. A trend toward elevated urine volume with increased intake of vanadium was also observed.