Unveiling the attributes of rabbit milk

Increasing the knowledge of rabbit milk can help in breeding practice to solve issues considering the health and growth of rabbit kits. The goal of the study was to perform a broad physicochemical analysis of rabbit milk and examine the effect of the reproductive status of the females on daily milk yield and milk attributes. The study was conducted on a commercial rabbit farm and included three consecutive lactations of Hycole does. It has been observed that the daily milk production increased from the 2nd till the 14th day of lactation when does produced almost 300 g of milk daily. The day of lactation caused a significant variation in the content of total solids, solids-not-fat, total protein, casein, lactose, C18: 2, C18: 3, Somatic Cell Count, and pH. The percentage of fat globules categorised according to their diameter changed with the ongoing lactation as well, and the diameter increased from 5 to 7 µm. The percentage of small milk fat globules decreased with lactation day, causing a possible decrease in the digestions rates of milk. Pregnancy had a negative impact on milk production, kits growth performance, and the content of total protein, solids-not-fat, and lactose in milk. Therefore, we can speculate about the negative impact of overlapping lactations and pregnancies on rabbit kits, as their growth is dependent on milk production and composition.

Determination of nutritional health indexes of fresh bovine milk using near infrared spectroscopy

Bovine milk is one of the most complete foods that exist. During the last decades, milk FA have shown to improve human health due to the reduction in risk of cardiovascular disease and related pathologies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) reflectance analysis to predict the nutritional value, fatty acid (FA) composition, and health index of fresh milk from dairy cows of pastoral systems. The prediction of Atherogenicity and Thrombogenicity indexes, along with other FA ratios in fresh milk samples by NIRS were precise and accurate. In addition, the calibration model obtained by NIRS provides an opportunity for the routine quantification of milk’s healthy FA such as omega-3 and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), with applications in the dairy industry for food labeling, and at the farm level for management of the dairy cow’s diet.

The effect of ruminal fluid pH on milk fatty acids composition in cattle

The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of ruminal fluid pH on the fatty acids (FA) profile of bovine milk. The experiment was performed on 250 Polish Holstein-Friesian cows reared in 11 commercial high-yielding dairy farms. Ruminal fluid samples were collected by rumenocentesis, and fat and FA concentrations in milk were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. According to ruminal fluid pH, cows were categorized into three pH groups: high pH (pH > 5.8), moderate pH (pH 5.8–5.6), and low pH (pH < 5.6). Milk produced by low-rumen pH cows had a decreased fat content as compared to milk from moderate- and high-rumen pH cows (P ≤ 0.05). Moreover, milk from low-rumen pH cows was characterized by the lowest level of short-chain FA (SCFA; P ≤ 0.05), and consequently, the highest medium-chain FA to SCFA ratio (P ≤ 0.01). The regression analysis showed that these traits explained a small proportion of rumen pH variance, which makes them unreliable indicators of subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) in dairy cows. However, despite the extensive variability in milk fat composition observed in this study, the effect of ruminal pH on SCFA in all the analyzed herds showed the same trend. Future research aimed to identify SARA biomarkers should therefore be conducted using techniques that allow detection of more individual FA in milk, including SCFA.

Differences in Bioactive Protein and Vitamin Status of Milk Obtained from Polish Local Breeds of Cows

The aim of the study was to compare the content of selected bioactive whey proteins and lipophilic vitamins, which largely determine the bioactive status of milk, in milk obtained from local breeds of cows raised in Poland (Polish Red, White-Backed and Simmental) and Polish Holstein-Friesian cows. Basic chemical composition and content of selected bioactive compounds (β-lactoglobulin, α-lactalbumin, lactoferrin, bovine serum albumin, and vitamins: E, A, D3 and β-carotene) in 550 milk samples were analysed. The milk produced by local breeds proved to be a more valuable source of whey proteins and lipophilic vitamins than that of the Polish Holstein-Friesians. It was distinguished by its content of all bioactive compounds, including those with antioxidant properties, i.e. vitamins E, A and D3 and β-lactoglobulin, and antimicrobial properties, mainly lactoferrin. Therefore, the milk of cows of local breeds should be considered a valuable material for processing, especially at the level of the farm or small local processing plant, to produce products that are richer in health-promoting compounds. The promotion of milk from local breeds can therefore be an opportunity for the farms that raise them.

Identification of differential selection traces in two Polish cattle breeds

Genetic improvement of animals based on artificial selection is leading to changes in the frequency of genes related to desirable production traits. The changes are reflected by the neutral, intergenic single nucleotide polymorphims (SNPs) being in long-range linkage disequilibrium with functional polymorphisms. Genome-wide SNP analysis tools designed for cattle, allow for scanning divergences in allelic frequencies between distinct breeds and thus for identification of genomic regions which were divergently selected in breeds' histories. In this study, by using Bovine SNP50 assay, we attempted to identify genomic regions showing the highest differences in allele frequencies between two distinct cattle breeds - preserved, unselected Polish Red breed and highly selected Holstein cattle. Our study revealed 19 genomic regions encompassing 55 protein-coding genes and numerous quantitative trait loci which potentially may underlie some of the phenotypic traits distinguishing the breeds.

Determination of whey proteins in different types of milk

Protein analysis is very important both in terms of milk protein allergy, and of milk and dairy product adulteration (β-lactoglobulin may be an important marker in the detection of milk adulteration). The aim of this study was to detect major whey proteins α-lactalbumin and β-lactoglobulin and their genetic variants by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Milk samples from cows (n = 40), goats (n = 40) and sheep (n = 40) were collected at two farms and milk bars in the Czech Republic from April to June 2010. The concentration of α-lactalbumin was higher in goat’s milk (1.27 ± 0.05 g·l-1, P < 0.001) and cow’s milk (1.16 ± 0.02 g·l-1, P = 0.0037) compared to sheep’s milk (0.95 ± 0.06 g·l-1); however, concentration of α-lactalbumin in goat’s milk and cow’s milk did not differ significantly (P < 0.05). Goat’s milk contained less β-lactoglobulin (3.07 ± 0.08 g·l-1) compared to cow’s milk (4.10 ± 0.04 g·l-1, P < 0.001) or sheep’s milk (5.97 ± 0.24 g·l-1, P < 0.001). A highly significant positive correlation (r = 0.8686; P < 0.001) was found between fraction A and B of β-lactoglobulin in sheep’s milk, whereas in cow’s milk there was a negative correlation (r = -0.3010; P = 0.0296). This study summarizes actual information of the whey protein content in different types of milk which may be relevant in assessing their allergenic potential.