Cobalt in ruminant nutrition

Larry L. Berger, Ph.D.

Salt Institute

Salt and Trace Minerals newsletter

Summer 2005 (Vol. 37, No. 2)

Cobalt is recognized as essential for vitamin B12 synthesis, but more recently has been found to improve fiber digestion in the rumen independent of its role as part of vitamin B12. Likewise, scientists have discovered by ruminants respond to cobalt supplementation while monogastrics do not: while ruminants synthesize the vitamin in their guts, monogastric animals do not have a bacterial population in the gut that can synthesize sufficient vitamin B12, so monogastrics must get B12 in their diets. Cobalt deficiency retards the complex process of synthesizing vitamin B12.