author(s)
Kanti Raje, Sadhana Ojha, Alok Mishra, VK Munde, Chandrakanta Rawat and Sandeep K Chaudhary

abstract
Minerals play a vital role in the nutrition of animal production system. Minerals perform digestive and reproductive process and growth of animals. Bioavailability of minerals from its inorganic sources is quite low so these minerals are added 20-30 fold higher than the normal requirement of animals which can lead to excess excretion of these minerals in the faeces resulting in environmental pollution and it may affect the balance of other minerals. Interaction between two minerals or more minerals can reduce bioavailability. Nano minerals improve bioavailability due to the increase in the surface area, higher surface activity, high catalytic efficiency and stronger adsorbing ability. Further, nano encapsulation technique avoids mineral-mineral or mineral-nutrient interaction and enhances their availability. Nano minerals are used for enhancing the bioavailability of minerals in livestock which is helpful in improving growth, production and health status of animals. However, studies explaining the role of nano minerals as a dietary supplement on the performance of the animals are scanty.