Abstract
ABSTRACT. This work was realized to evaluate lactation stage, physiological state, somatic cell count (SCC) and body condition score (BCS) on production and composition of cow's milk from Gir and Guzerat breeds were studied. Ninety-eight cows were analyzed and classified according to their physiological state, lactation stage, SCC and BCS. Milk production was weighed monthly to obtain production data. Composed samples were collected in vials containing preservatives and sent to the laboratory for analysis. Data were used for statistic descriptive analysis and analysis of variance. Higher milk production in the first 60 days of lactation was observed. Fat, protein and total solids concentration increased according to the increase of days in milk; while lactose concentration decreased. Higher levels of fat, protein and total solids in milk of non-pregnant cows were observed; while pregnant cows had higher daily production and higher lactose content in their milk. Higher lactose levels in milk were observed in animals with lower SCC. The BCS had no effect on milk composition or on somatic cell count. Zebu cow milk production and composition are influenced by lactation stage, physiological state and SCC.
Highlights
The Brazilian herd consists mainly of Zebu cattle (Tizioto et al, 2011), being recognized for their better adaptation to tropical conditions in which they are predominantly managed, and for their ability to enable dairy farming on an exclusive grazing regime (Madalena, Peixoto, & Gibson, 2012).Among Zebu breeds with milk aptitude, Gir and Guzerat have been selected for milk production, with reports of average yields of 8.5 kg day-1 (Madruga et al, 2016), which can be seen as satisfactory results in tropical production systems (Peixoto, Verneque, Teodoro, Penna, & Martinez, 2006).Acta Scientiarum
Physicochemical composition of cow milk is of great importance when it comes to nutritional value and its industrial processing ability, and varies according to several factors, among which are: breed, diet, udder health, lactation stage and physiological factors (Aikman, Reynolds, & Beever, 2008; Dufour, Fréchette, Barkema, Mussell, & Scholl, 2011)
Somatic cell count (SCC) is used as an indirect diagnostic criterion of subclinical mastitis (Berglund, Pettersson, Östensson, & Svennersten Sjaunja, 2007), which are normally counted at 100,000 cells/ml when milk comes from healthy mammary glands (Bytyqi et al, 2010)
Summary
The Brazilian herd consists mainly of Zebu cattle (Tizioto et al, 2011), being recognized for their better adaptation to tropical conditions in which they are predominantly managed, and for their ability to enable dairy farming on an exclusive grazing regime (Madalena, Peixoto, & Gibson, 2012).Among Zebu breeds with milk aptitude, Gir and Guzerat have been selected for milk production, with reports of average yields of 8.5 kg day-1 (Madruga et al, 2016), which can be seen as satisfactory results in tropical production systems (Peixoto, Verneque, Teodoro, Penna, & Martinez, 2006).Acta Scientiarum. Physicochemical composition of cow milk is of great importance when it comes to nutritional value and its industrial processing ability, and varies according to several factors, among which are: breed, diet, udder health, lactation stage and physiological factors (pregnant or non-pregnant) (Aikman, Reynolds, & Beever, 2008; Dufour, Fréchette, Barkema, Mussell, & Scholl, 2011). Higher SCC values have negative influences on the quality of raw milk, which are due to enzymatic activity of somatic cells (Sharma et al, 2011), and the main consequences are associated with reduced shelf life and sensory quality of the final dairy product, resulting in a considerable economic loss for the entire dairy industry (Geary et al, 2012)
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