Molybdenum News Center

Does Low Level Molybdenum Toxicity Exist ?

The answer has to be that we don’t know. Even at low levels molybdenum will alter copper metabolism, but it is unclear whether or not it can cause problems in animals which show a normal copper status. The proponents of molybdenum toxicity suggest that molybdenum causes poor fertility as a result of binding to copper (as a compound called thiomolybdate) in the body and preventing its action, without affecting our current tests for copper status. Opponents suggest that thiomolybdates are not necessarily harmful and that molybdenum doesn’t cause problems in animals with normal copper status.

The main problem linked with this “low level” molybdenum toxicity is poor fertility. Fertility in the UK dairy herd is decreasing and many farms have got poor fertility for many different reasons. The most common reason for poor fertility is output exceeding input, that is cows losing more energy in their milk than they can eat. Cows in negative energy balance have reduced fertility, and, while the mechanism for this is far from simple, generally the worse the imbalance the worse the fertility. Any investigation of poor fertility should focus on overall feeding and management first before looking at micronutrients such as copper and molybdenum. So if someone suggests to you, without such an investigation, that molybdenum toxicity is likely to be your main problem, such a suggestion should be taken with a pinch of salt (do not take any Molybdenum).

• < Prev
• Next >