Effects of prolonged consumption of water with elevated nitrate levels on certain metabolic parameters of dairy cattle and use of clinoptilolite for their amelioration

Elevated levels of nitrates in feed and water can pose a significant risk for dairy cattle, due to their cumulative action. The effect of prolonged consumption of water naturally contaminated with nitrates on some metabolic parameters in dairy cows was investigated at the present study. Concurrently, whether in-feed inclusion of clinoptilolite, a natural zeolite with high selectivity for ammonia cations, could ameliorate nitrate consumption consequences was examined. Two experiments were run simultaneously in two farms each. In both, farms were assigned into two groups according to nitrate levels in borehole water (NG > 40 ppm; CG