Inmaculada Orjales: «Microminerals are always the forgotten ones; they are essential for the normal functioning of any living being»

Calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium... Oddly enough, the deficit or excess of these chemical elements in our body is an increasingly frequent topic of conversation in our daily lives. The popularity enjoyed by food supplements containing these macrominerals or enriched foods has permanently introduced these terms into the collective imagination.

On the contrary, elements equally essential for any living being, such as microminerals, live in the shadow of their "big brothers." These are related to the correct development of cells, body regulation, immune response and many other functions that Inmaculada Orjales Galdo can discuss at length. 

Extraordinary award of Degree in 2013, extraordinary award of Doctorate in 2019, Faculty in the Internal Medicine Service of HVU Rof Codina and now Assistant Professor Doctor in Anatomy, Animal Production and Veterinary Clinical Sciences at Campus Terra.... So far, the curriculum of Inmaculada Orjales is impressive, but it certainly will give much to talk about in a few years. 

Her research is at the forefront of animal health, with promising results shortly. The role of microminerals in the pathophysiology of endocrine diseases or the challenges for organic livestock farming to provide a balanced diet rich in microminerals to production animals are some of the topics on which Inmaculada Orjales focuses her studies, and about which we asked her in today's interview.

-Part of her research focuses on the importance of microminerals or trace elements in animal health. What exactly are these elements? What is their function in the organism of a living being?

-Microminerals are vital for an organism's functioning and are part of the structure of many molecules. They are always forgotten because they are needed in tiny quantities. Even so, they are essential for the normal functioning of any living being: for example, selenium (Se) is part of enzymes with high antioxidant power, iron (Fe) is vital for the formation of red blood cells, copper (Cu) actively participates in energy metabolism, zinc (Zn) has essential functions in the immune system...

Deficiency of these essential minerals or the excess of toxic ones (such as aluminum or arsenic) is involved in the pathophysiology of several diseases and, therefore, in the reduction of productive performance in production animals.  

Recently, we conducted a study on how micromineral levels affect endocrine pathologies in dogs. We observed that dogs with endocrine processes (especially hypothyroidism) have elevated blood levels of arsenic, a potent hormone disruptor, and reduced selenium levels. We are still initiating work in this field, but it seems that microminerals can have a very important role in the physiopathology of this type of disease.  

-The contribution of microminerals to an animal's diet is a task that requires great precision. Each one plays a particular role, and its efficacy level depends on the dose applied. What are the most appropriate methods or strategies to know each animal's specific needs and how to act?

-In production animals, most diets are supplemented with microminerals (mineral correctors), and likewise, in most companion animals that consume commercial feed. Even so, it is sometimes difficult to maintain adequate levels of microminerals because animals do not always consume standardized diets. For example, in grazing cattle, most of the nutritional intake is provided by forage, and the levels of microminerals in the forage will depend directly on the levels of microminerals in the soil, which in turn depends on the composition of the soil. 

To further complicate matters, microminerals interact with each other so that an excess of one can lead to another deficiency (e.g., an excess of molybdenum in the diet blocks copper). This often makes it challenging to maintain micromineral levels at adequate values. 

Measuring microminerals is a complex process, which we do not routinely do in routine analysis. Sometimes, a blood sample is sufficient, but tissue or organ samples (e.g., liver) are sometimes needed. Even so, in animals at risk, with suspicion of mineral accumulation or deficit, we can perform studies to measure microminerals and assess what is happening in a particular animal, in a group of animals or, for example, on a farm.

-Organic production is the order of the day and is becoming increasingly necessary. How is this type of production combined with the application of minerals in the animals' diet?

-The truth is that, within the production of animals, organic production has some peculiarities that make these animals have a higher risk of deficiencies of certain microminerals, especially in dairy cattle and other animals. 

This is because the animals in organic production have restricted mineral supplements, and most of the diet is based on forage (preferably self-produced). As mentioned before, when a diet is supplemented with mineral correctors, it is easy to maintain adequate levels of microminerals. On the contrary, when we depend on the soil, everything becomes more complicated, and the factors of variation multiply soil type, humidity, type of plant, plant maturity stage, etc. 

A few years ago, we conducted studies on the micromineral profile of dairy cattle in organic production. We observed that the values of certain animals' minerals in organic production were lower than in conventional production (especially iodine, selenium and copper, but also others). The restriction of mineral supplementation in these animals made us think of a different way of providing them, and we worked mainly with the use of algae in the diets, obtaining promising results. 

-Four years ago, you participated in research that explored the potential of microminerals as diagnostic markers in dogs. What does this advance mean in the field of animal health? Could these results be extrapolated to other species, such as humans? 

Yes, before that time, we worked extensively with microminerals in production animals, but four years ago, we decided to start a new and very promising avenue of work. 

We have only initial studies in which we saw associations between some microminerals and different common pathologies in dogs (for example, copper with hepatic and oncological pathologies, molybdenum with renal processes, etc.). We are working again in this line, trying to understand this relationship a little more in-depth. 

As I explained before, we are working with animals with endocrine pathologies, with very interesting results, but also with oncological animals or with cognitive dysfunction syndrome, a disease with many similarities to Alzheimer's in people. We believe that minerals can play a significant role in this disease and that the dog can serve as a study model for people.  

-Currently, one of your lines of research is focused on using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in animal health. What advantages can the use of this technology bring to your sector? What prognosis do you foresee for the future?

It is also something new for us. Still, in this last project on the importance of minerals in the syndrome of cognitive dysfunction in dogs as a model of Alzheimer's disease (a collaborative project of Campus Terra MIDICO), we decided to collaborate with different research groups to create a multidisciplinary project, and one of them is the research group of Intelligent Systems of the USC. 

These Artificial Intelligence systems are good at identifying patterns and improving the prediction of biomarkers, so for this project, it seemed to them that it could be interesting to assess the distribution patterns of minerals in the canine brain and relate them to the amyloid plaque deposits and the Degree of cognitive dysfunction that each animal presents. We are still initiating work on this, but we believe it will provide valuable information for understanding this disease.