Veterinarska stanica, Vol. 48 No. 4, 2017.
Original scientific paper
Dietary zeolite clinoptilolite supplementation influences chemical composition of milk and udder health in dairy cows
Dražen Đuričić
Miroslav Benić
Nino Maćešić
Hrvoje Valpotić
Romana Turk
Vesna Dobranić
Luka Cvetnić
Damjan Gračner
Silvijo Vince
Juraj Grizelj
Jože Starič
Martina Lojkić
Marko Samardžija
Abstract
The aim of the current study was to establish the influence of dietary zeolite clinoptilolite (CPL) on the chemical composition of milk, somatic cell counts and udder health in dairy cows. Twenty cows of the Holstein-Frisian breed, aged between 3 and 5 years, which were pregnant for 3 months and kept in a small family farm in vicinity of Đurđevac, Croatia, were included in the trial. Cows were randomly assigned into two groups, control (n=10) and CPL-fed group (n=10). The CPL group received 100 g zeolite in the ratio for dairy cows on a daily basis. The first milk sampling was taken prior to adding
CPL to feed. The four consecutive samplings were performed on a monthly basis up to 7th month of pregnancy, i.e., the dry period. The milk samples were analysed for chemical composition (milk fat, proteins, lactose, non- fatty dry matter and urea), somatic cell counts and by bacteriological examination. Observed differences in the content of particular milk components tested did not differ significantly between groups in any of sampling points. However, the chemical composition of milk was found to be more stable in CPL-fed cows. Statistically significant differences were found for milk fat and urea contents between single samplings in CPL-fed cows. Moreover, in the control group, significant differences were found between single samplings for all milk components, except non-fatty dry matter. The number of SCC in milk between the groups did not differ significantly. However, the control cows had a 21-fold higher odd of intramammary infections than CPL-fed cows. This beneficial outcome of the study may be attributed to the antibacterial, detoxifying, antioxidative and immunostimulating effects of CPL on the metabolism of cows, as exhibited by a decreased incidence of intramammary infections during the dry period, parturition and early lactation. Such an outcome might be explained by the moderation of stressful events accompanying such periods, when cows are the most sensitive to metabolic imbalance and environmental detrimental effects, resulting in more pronounced immunosuppression and susceptibility to intramammary infections.
Keywords
cows; milk composition; somatic cells; zeolite clinoptilolite
Hrčak ID:
222322
URI
Publication date:
26.7.2017.
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