Chelating is the chemical process by which a mineral (iron, cobalt, copper, zinc, and manganese) is combined with a mixture of amino acids and peptides. The resulting substances are known as chelates. These Amino chelated minerals are thought to be more digestible than nonchelated forms.
These amino Chelated trace minerals are basically formed by the reaction of micro (trace) minerals (Zn, Cu, Mn, Fe, Co) or macro minerals (Mg, Ca) to an amino acid in a 1:1 molar ratio. This process helps protect the metal from being tied up by antagonisms (Fe, Mo, S) during digestion and allows for the metal to remain part of this organic molecule as it is absorbed primarily in the jejunal area of the small intestine.Request A Quote
Trace minerals are required in very small amounts in the diet and their uptake from the digestive tract can be impaired by other dietary components or the presence of ‘antagonists’. Foe an instance, availability of copper for absorption is heavily influenced by molybdenum, Sulphur and iron. Natural feed stuffs such as corn, wheat, soybean meal, etc. contain essential trace elements, which are required by animals. However, these trace elements are often in a form which renders them unavailable to the animal. In many cases, they would not be in adequate concentrations to meet the animal’s requirement. Therefore, when deficiencies of one or more of the trace mineral elements exist in a diet, they are usually provided to the animal in an Amino acid chelated form. It is advantageous to have knowledge about bioavailability of any element in the natural feed ingredient or mineral source used as a dietary supplement.