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On the Effect of the Temperature-Humidity Index on Buffalo Bulk Milk Composition and Coagulation Traits

Little is known about the effects of high levels of environmental temperature and humidity on milk yield and quality in buffaloes since this species is known to be more heat tolerant than cattle. However, the distribution of sweat glands and the dark skin color can negatively affect heat tolerance....

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Autores principales: Costa, Angela, De Marchi, Massimo, Battisti, Sabrina, Guarducci, Marcella, Amatiste, Simonetta, Bitonti, Giuseppe, Borghese, Antonio, Boselli, Carlo
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7604269/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33195582
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.577758
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author Costa, Angela
De Marchi, Massimo
Battisti, Sabrina
Guarducci, Marcella
Amatiste, Simonetta
Bitonti, Giuseppe
Borghese, Antonio
Boselli, Carlo
author_facet Costa, Angela
De Marchi, Massimo
Battisti, Sabrina
Guarducci, Marcella
Amatiste, Simonetta
Bitonti, Giuseppe
Borghese, Antonio
Boselli, Carlo
author_sort Costa, Angela
collection PubMed
description Little is known about the effects of high levels of environmental temperature and humidity on milk yield and quality in buffaloes since this species is known to be more heat tolerant than cattle. However, the distribution of sweat glands and the dark skin color can negatively affect heat tolerance. Moreover, due to increased global temperatures, concerns regarding heat stress and thermoregulation in dairy animals, including buffaloes, have been extended to the northern hemisphere. In this study, the effects of both the temperature-humidity index (THI) and the maximum daily temperature-humidity index (MTHI) were estimated on bulk milk traits, namely fat, protein, lactose, urea content, pH levels, somatic cell score, coagulation properties, and bacteria count. The dataset consisted of repeated data from 99 Mediterranean water buffalo farms, and mixed models were used for the analyses. Supporting the negative correlations observed, bulk milk fat, protein, and lactose content were significantly lower when THI and MTHI were higher. Similarly, milk pH was lower when THI and MTHI were high; however, high levels of THI or MTHI seemed to not be markedly associated with the milk's coagulation ability. According to both analysis of variance and correlations, the somatic cell score was not significantly affected by the THI and MTHI. This is the first study based on a large dataset that evaluates the impact of high temperature and humidity in Italian buffalo milk and that provides correlations with traits of interest for the dairy industry, i.e., milk acidity and coagulation ability. In general, findings show that the effects of elevated THI and heat stress on bulk milk quality in buffalo is less evident than in cattle. These preliminary results intend to open debate on the issue of heat stress in dairy buffaloes that are reared in temperate regions. Further studies should focus on individual milk and performance and should investigate the relationship between high THI and buffalo fertility, behavior, and welfare.
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spelling pubmed-76042692020-11-13 On the Effect of the Temperature-Humidity Index on Buffalo Bulk Milk Composition and Coagulation Traits Costa, Angela De Marchi, Massimo Battisti, Sabrina Guarducci, Marcella Amatiste, Simonetta Bitonti, Giuseppe Borghese, Antonio Boselli, Carlo Front Vet Sci Veterinary Science Little is known about the effects of high levels of environmental temperature and humidity on milk yield and quality in buffaloes since this species is known to be more heat tolerant than cattle. However, the distribution of sweat glands and the dark skin color can negatively affect heat tolerance. Moreover, due to increased global temperatures, concerns regarding heat stress and thermoregulation in dairy animals, including buffaloes, have been extended to the northern hemisphere. In this study, the effects of both the temperature-humidity index (THI) and the maximum daily temperature-humidity index (MTHI) were estimated on bulk milk traits, namely fat, protein, lactose, urea content, pH levels, somatic cell score, coagulation properties, and bacteria count. The dataset consisted of repeated data from 99 Mediterranean water buffalo farms, and mixed models were used for the analyses. Supporting the negative correlations observed, bulk milk fat, protein, and lactose content were significantly lower when THI and MTHI were higher. Similarly, milk pH was lower when THI and MTHI were high; however, high levels of THI or MTHI seemed to not be markedly associated with the milk's coagulation ability. According to both analysis of variance and correlations, the somatic cell score was not significantly affected by the THI and MTHI. This is the first study based on a large dataset that evaluates the impact of high temperature and humidity in Italian buffalo milk and that provides correlations with traits of interest for the dairy industry, i.e., milk acidity and coagulation ability. In general, findings show that the effects of elevated THI and heat stress on bulk milk quality in buffalo is less evident than in cattle. These preliminary results intend to open debate on the issue of heat stress in dairy buffaloes that are reared in temperate regions. Further studies should focus on individual milk and performance and should investigate the relationship between high THI and buffalo fertility, behavior, and welfare. Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-10-19 /pmc/articles/PMC7604269/ /pubmed/33195582 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.577758 Text en Copyright © 2020 Costa, De Marchi, Battisti, Guarducci, Amatiste, Bitonti, Borghese and Boselli. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Veterinary Science
Costa, Angela
De Marchi, Massimo
Battisti, Sabrina
Guarducci, Marcella
Amatiste, Simonetta
Bitonti, Giuseppe
Borghese, Antonio
Boselli, Carlo
On the Effect of the Temperature-Humidity Index on Buffalo Bulk Milk Composition and Coagulation Traits
title On the Effect of the Temperature-Humidity Index on Buffalo Bulk Milk Composition and Coagulation Traits
title_full On the Effect of the Temperature-Humidity Index on Buffalo Bulk Milk Composition and Coagulation Traits
title_fullStr On the Effect of the Temperature-Humidity Index on Buffalo Bulk Milk Composition and Coagulation Traits
title_full_unstemmed On the Effect of the Temperature-Humidity Index on Buffalo Bulk Milk Composition and Coagulation Traits
title_short On the Effect of the Temperature-Humidity Index on Buffalo Bulk Milk Composition and Coagulation Traits
title_sort on the effect of the temperature-humidity index on buffalo bulk milk composition and coagulation traits
topic Veterinary Science
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7604269/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33195582
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.577758
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