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ABSTRACT
Level of colostrums’ enzymatic activity is a reliable indicator of ingestion and passive immunity and, thus, the viability of newborns. Our study evaluated the colostrums immunoglobulin-G (IgG) and enzymatic levels during the first 24 h after lambing in ewes and determined the effect of fixed factors on enzymatic quality. Colostrums were milked from 134 Ouled Djellal ewes aged from 1 to 8 years in a commercial farm of Algerian semi-arid region. Samples were taken at 3, 6, 9, 12 and 24 h after lambing and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels were determined in colostrums using the spectrophometric analysis (Spin react). The IgG quality of each sample was measured using a digital brix refractometer (PAL colostrum–58%). Results showed significant differences related to milking period, lambing season and animal. Period of milking had significant effect on ALP (p < 0.01) and GGT (p < 0.05) activities, respectively. The highest enzymatic activity in ewe colostrums was observed in spring, in both lean and fat ewes. Enzymatic activity decreased with age until 5 years old and increased thereafter. GGT and LDH activities can thus be used alongside IgG in the determination of colostrums immunological quality, but ALP cannot.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.