J. Chin. Soc. Anim. Sci. 44(4)：320~331, 2015
320
Electrophoretic profiles of the proteinous
components of plasma and mammary secretion of
Holstein cows having received Entercoccus faecium
SF68 dry-cow treatment
Tiantong Attapol(1), Fang-Yu Chang(1), Pei-Chi Lin(1), Wen-Bor Liu(1),
Shuen-Ei Chen(1) and Chai-Ju Chang(1)(2)
ABSTRACT
The dry period before expected calving allows for fully remodeling of mammary
gland and the whole body preparations for the increased nutrient requirement of
lactogenesis and the intensive growth of fetus. Systematic drying-off with antibiotics
has been practiced in many regions of the world to protect mammary gland against the
health problems associated with dry period. To help alleviate an increasing concern
of antibiotics use, the current study evaluated intramammary probiotics dry-cow
treatment in terms of the abundance of proteinous components in dry secretion and
colostrum. A balanced intramammary treatment across the four quarters of each cow
was applied once on the first milk-stasis day when one of the front and rear quarters
received a regular antibiotics dry-cow formula (Control quarter) and the contralateral
quarters received 5 ×108 CFU/quarter of Enterococcus faecium SF68 plus half dose
antibiotic dry-cow formula (SF68 quarter). A native Laemmli SDS-PAGE analysis
revealed that the abundance of lactoferrin and bovine serum albumin in the first-week
dry secretion, as well as that of γ-globulin in the initial colostrum, tended to be higher
in SF68 quarter as compared to control quarter under relatively homeostatic plasma
γ-globulin and albumin. The results suggest that SF68 dry-cow treatment might have
a short-term positivel effect on the humoral defense of drying-off mammary gland and
is beneficial in long-term to the transfer of passive immunity to neonates in addition to
being an alternative to antibiotics dry-cow formula.
(Key Words: Colostrum, Dry-cow treatment, Electrophoresis, Entercoccus faecium
SF68, Holstein cow)
(1)
Department of Animal Science, National Chung Hsing University, 250, Kuo Kuang Rd., Taichung 40227, Taiwan,
R.O.C.
(2)
Corresponding author, E-mail: crchang@mail.nchu.edu.tw
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中國畜牧學會會誌　第四十四卷　第四期
INTRODUCTION
Dry peiod refers to the 45 to 60-dayinterval of milk-stasis before the expected calving of dairy
cows. Dry period allows full regression of mammary gland so that the productivity could be retrieved
in subsequent lactation and the whole body could be prepared for the increased nutrient requirement
for lactogenesis and the intensive growth of the fetus. Nevertheless, health problems such as clinical
and subclinical ketosis, metritis, and mastitisin association with the dietary, hormonal, and metabolic
changes during dry period have been reported, especially, in high yielding cows (Mehrzad et al.,
2002). On the other hand, although continuous milking without a planned dry period between two
consecutive lactations could avoid the transition problems in cows and mamagement system, it tends
to reduce milk yield and colostral immunoglobulins (Ig) levels in the following lactation compared
with cows with a planned dry period (Steeneveld et al., 2013; Verweij et al., 2014). Systematic
drying-off with antibiotics has been practiced in many areas of the world, including Taiwan, to protect
the vulnerable drying-off gland until puerperium but the problem of antibiotics resistance remains an
issue in dairy production.
Immunoglobulins, bovine serum albumin (BSA), and lactoferrin (Lf) are the major proteinous
components of involution secretion and/or colostrum of dairy cows. Blood Ig are spontaneously
produced polyreactive antibodies against the environmental and self-antigens that have potent
opsonic and toxin neutralizing properties (Hill, 1981; Baumgarth and Herzenberg, 2005). Milk Ig
are a primary exudate of blood and could protect mammary gland against intramammary pathogens.
BSA could bind, transport, and dispose the xenogenous compounds that gain entry into the animal
body. The bacteriostatic function of Lf is mainly attributable to its iron chelating property, and
the N-terminal cationic peptide lactoferrin could disrupt bacterial membrane. Lf also functions
in immuno-modulation and anti-inflammation by preventing bacterial lipopolysaccharides from
initiating host signal pathways (Legrand et al., 2004). Ig, BSA, and Lf altogether provide immediate
and broad protection for mammary gland and the suckling neonates, respectively, before adaptive
immunity is developed (Butler, 1994).
Enterococcus faeciumstrain SF68 (SF68) is a gram-positive bacteria originally isolated from
a healthy Swedish baby but its supplementation to animal feeds improved the general immunity of
pets (Simpson et al., 2009; Bybee et al., 2011) and pigs (Scharek et al., 2005; Broom et al., 2006)
and has been authorized in EU as one of the probiotic feed additives. We have partially substituted
SF68 for the antibiotics dry-cow formula (Peng et al., 2013; Tiantong et al., 2015) and noticed acute
modifications in the proteinous components of dry secretion. The so-called “hyperimmune bovine
colostrum＂ has been produced by cows through firstly intramuscular vaccination, and then infusion
of the antigen again into the drying-off gland to promote local production of the antibody (Ashraf
et al., 2001; Kelly, 2003). Therefore, it is postulated that the SF68 dry-cow treatment might not
only acutely modify the proteinous components of dry secretion but also chronically affect those of
colostrum. Because Ig, BSA, and Lf are macro components of dry secretion and/or colostrum, the
current study used native SDS-PAGE as a preliminary tool to quickly evaluate the short-term and
long-term effects of SF68 dry-cow treatment on the profiles of major proteinous components of dry
secretion and colostrum. Our results suggest that SF68 dry-cow treatment might be beneficial to the
humoral defense of drying-off mammary gland and the passive immunity of neonates besides being an
alternative to antibiotics dry-cow formula.
Electrophoretic profiles of the proteinous components of plasma and mammary
secretion of Holstein cows having received Entercoccus faecium SF68 dry-cow treatment
322
MATERIALS AND METHODS
1. Animals and management
Four Holstein cows were raised and mated in the dairy farm of National Chung Hsing University
(Taichung, Taiwan). Their milk yields were less than 10 kg/d and were over 220 day-in-milk
within the last two months of their second or third gestationy at the time of the current experiment.
Pregnancy was routinely inspected by on-farm veterinarian until labor. Their Dairy Herd Improvement
(DHI) production records were complete and were free of previous mastitis or other helath problems.
They were fed on a commercial dry-cow ration (3000 kcal/kg metabolic energy, 16% crude protein)
(Lee Han Co. Ltd., Kao Hsiung, Taiwan) since one wk prior to milk stasis and were free accessible
to pangola hay and water. The dry-cow treatment and sampling protocols have been approved by the
committee of Care and Use of Experimental Animals of National Chung Hsing University.
2. Dry-cow treatment
A balanced intramammary treatment across the four quarters of each cow was applied to minimize
the error related to individual variation. Intramammary dry-cow treatment was practiced only once on
the first milk stasis day immediately after the final milking. One of the front and rear quarters were
randomly assigned to a routine antibiotics dry-cow formula (Cepravin Dry Cow, 250 mg, Intramammary
Suspension, Schering Plough Animal Health Ltd., Uxbridge, UK) (Control quarter) whereas the
contralateral quarters were assigned to SF68 dry-cow treatment (SF68 quarter). A SF68 stock solution
of 5 × 108 CFU/mL was prepared by dissolving the commercial micro-solid SF68 product (1 × 109
CFU/g, Cylactin_ME10; Cerbios-Pharma, Barbengo, Switzerland) in 20 mL of endotoxin-free PBS
(Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis MO, USA). An intermittent ultrasonication (Vibra cell, Model VC 50T,
Sonics & Materials Inc.) was applied to the SF68 stock solution for 20 min under ice bath before further
dilution to 50 mL with endotoxin-free PBS. Thus obtained SF68 working solution was disposed in 2.5mL syringes and stored under - 20ºC until use. Same batch of SF68 working solution was used by all
experimental cows. The current SF68 dosage was 5 × 108 CFU/quarter, 2.5-fold of previous dosage
(Peng et al., 2013; Tiantong et al., 2015) with the intent to exaggerate the responses.
The exterior of quarters were firstly disinfected with 75% ethanol, then the teat openings were
fitted to ablunt-end cannula (length 11/3" , J-12; Jorgenson Laboratories, Inc. Loveland, CO, USA),
and then either a syringe-dose of antibiotics or SF68 working solution was adapted to empty the
contents into the lumen accompanying with upward massages on the exterior skin. An additional
half-dose of Cepravin Dry Cow was supplemented to SF68 quarters to avoid infectious complication
during the experiment.
3. Sampling and sample preparations
Samples of quarter secretion (about 25 mL) were manually collected from individual quarters
prior to dry-cow treatment (d 1), and at the same time of the day on d 3 and d 7. Secretions from
the two SF68 quarters and the two control quarters were pooled, respectively, for each cow before
processing. No attempt was made to collect quarter secretion after d 7 because some cows dried
up quickly. At partum, the first colostrum was sampled within 2 hr after delivery and the primary
colostrum samples were pooled for the two control quarters and two SF68 quarters similarly.
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中國畜牧學會會誌　第四十四卷　第四期
Blood samples (about 10 mL) were collected from the tail vein of cows into heparinized tubes
concomittently to the sampling of quarter secretion and colostrum except on d 30 in dry period when
blood was also sampled in addition to d 1, d 3, and d 7. Blood samples of neonatal calves were also
collected from the jugular vein before the first suckling within 2 hr after birth. All samplings were
performed aseptically and samples were transported in ice bath for immediate preparation.
Quarter secretion and colostrum were skimmed by 400 ×g at 4ºC for 20 min (Peng et al., 2013;
Tiantong et al., 2015) and the fat-free, cell-free supernatant was stored in aliquots under 20℃ for assays
within two months. Heparinized blood samples were centrifuged by 1000 ×g at 4℃ for 30 min and the
recovered plasma was also stored in aliquots under 20℃ for assays within two months.
4. SDS-PAGE
The total protein contents of plasma and skimmed supernatant were determined with a dye-binding
kit (Bio-Rad Laboratories,Hercules, CA, USA) in microplate format (Multiskan Ascent, Thermo
Labsystems, Helsinki, Finland) using BSA (Sigma-Aldrich) to construct a standard curve.
The native Laemmli (1970) SDS-PAGE system was used to resolve the proteinous components of
dry secretion, colostrum, and plasma. Different separation gel concentrations were used: 7% acrylamind
for plasma samples and 9% acrylamind for skimmed supernatants of dry secretion and colostrum.
For each sample, the amount of volume containing10, 15, and 20 µg of protein, respectively, was
subjected to SDS-PAGE (Minigel, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, CA, USA) to avoid over- or underloading and to obtain the greatest band area per µg protein. Samples were firstly mixed with the 2X
Native Sample Buffer (Bio-Rad), pH 6.8, containing 62.5 mM Tris-HCl, 40% glycerol and 0.01%
bromophenol blue before SDS-PAGE. Afterwards, gels were stained for 30 min by 0.1% coomassie blue
R-250 in methanol/glacial acetic acid/distilled water (400/100/500) and destained for 30 min twice in
methanol/glacial acetic acid/distilled water (300/75/625) and then preserved in distilled water for band
visualization. The plausible proteinous components were identified on air-dried gel and the putative
γ-globulin band was defined of 110 to 150 kDa in size, lactoferrin was 70 to 80 kDa in size, BSA was
50 to 60 kDa in size, and casein was 25 to 30 kDa in size. The respective band image was captured with
Epson Stylus TX130 (Seiko Epson Corporation, Nagano, Japan) and quantified using Image J software
(v. 1.46; National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MA, USA). The integrated band area was then adjusted
for the amount of protein loaded and the the greatest band area per µg loading protein was obtained.
For normalization, the dry secretion and colostrum samples, as well as the plasma samples, collected on
different days from the same cow and/or her neonate were resolved on the same gel in parallel with the
molecular weight standards (Precision Plus Protein Standards, Bio-Rad).
5. Statistical analysis
Data were analyzed using the GLM procedure and Duncan' s new multiple range test (SAS, 2008)
with sampling time and dry-cow treatment as the major factors. Interaction between sampling time and
dry-cow treatment were also assessed. All results are presented as mean ± SE.
Electrophoretic profiles of the proteinous components of plasma and mammary
secretion of Holstein cows having received Entercoccus faecium SF68 dry-cow treatment
324
RESULTS
No fever, redness, swellness, or pain were observed in experimental cows during the one-week
experimental period, except on d 3 when the secretion from SF68 quarters appeared slightly yellowish
and colloidal in contrast to the normal whitish and watery secretion from control quarters. But on d 7,
secretions from all quarters appeared normal again.
Typical SDS-PAGE images of plasma and skimmed quarter secretion were displayed in Figure 1.
Visually, the putative γ-globulin and albumin bands represented the most distinguishable proteinous
components of plasma for involuting cows and neonates, whereas the putative Lf band represented
the most distinguishable proteinous component of d 7dry secretion and γ-globulin that of initial
colostrum for both control and SF68 quarters.
The total protein content (g/L) of plasma and quarter secretion were shown in Figure 2. Plasma
total protein content remained statistically unchanged until partum, when plasma total protein content
was significantly (P < 0.05) lower than during dry period. On the contrary, the total protein content of
quarter secretion increased significantly (P < 0.05) from d 1 to d 3 and from d 3 to d 7 for SF68 quarters
while similar total protein content was observed for control quarters among d 1, d 3, and d 7. The total
protein content of initial colostrum was similar between SF68 and control quarters but was significantly
(P < 0.05) higher than those of dry secretion for both SF68 and control quarters.
The abundance of γ-globulin and BSA (band area/µg protein) in plasma were shown in
Figure 3A. The abundance of γ-globulin and albumin were both lower (P < 0.05) on d 3 and/or d 7
compared to d 1 and d 30. The abundance of γ-globulin decreased (P < 0.05) again at partum and
that of neonatal plasma was significantly (P < 0.05) lower than their dam. Meanwhile, the abundance
of plasma albumin at partum and in neonates were similar to that during the dry period of cows.
The abundance of γ-globulin, BSA, Lf, and casein (band area/µg protein) in quarter secretion
were shown in Figure 3B. The abundance of γ-globulin in quarter secretion increased (P < 0.05)
from d 1 to d 3 for both SF68 and control quarters but was greater (P < 0.05) on d 3 for SF68
quarters compared to control quarters. The abundance of γ-globulin in control quarters kept
increasing (P < 0.05) from d 3 to d 7 but was still lower (P < 0.05) than that of SF68 quarters on
d 7. The abundance of γ-globulin in the initial colostrum of both SF68 and control quarters was
much higher (P < 0.05) than in dry secretion for both SF68 and control quarters. The abundance of
Lf in quarter secretion was higher (P < 0.05) on d 7 than on d 1 or on d 3 and was higher (P < 0.05)
than that in the initial colostrum for both SF68 and control quarters, but the abundance of LF in
secretion of SF68 quarters was higher (P < 0.05) on d 3 and d 7 than control quarters. No difference
in the abundance of Lf in colostrum was found between SF68 and control quarters. The abundance
of albumin in quarter secretion was lower (P < 0.05) on d 1 than on d 3, or d 7, or in initial
colostrum for both SF68 and control quarters, but the abundance of albumin in secretion of SF68
quarters was higher (P < 0.05) on d 3 and d 7 than control quarters. Again, no difference in the
abundance of albumin in colostrum was found between SF68 and control quarters. The abundance
of casein in quarter secretion was higher (P < 0.05) on d 1 and on d 3 than on d 7 or in the initial
colostrum for control quarters when the abundance of casein in secretion of SF68 quarters was
中國畜牧學會會誌　第四十四卷　第四期
325
higher (P < 0.05) on d 1 than the rest of other sampling times. On d 3 only, the abundance of casein
in secretion of SF68 quarters was higher (P< 0.05) compared to control quarters.
Figure1
Figure1
Figure 1 Representative images of the plasma in 7% SDS-PAGE (A) and quarter secretion in 9%
SDS-PAGE (B) of experimental Holstein cows and their neonatal calves during dry period
and at partum. Experimental cows received dry-cow treatment on the first milk stasis day (d
1) when control quarters received the regular antibiotics dry-cow formula and SF68 quarter
received 5 × 108 CFU Enterococcus faeciumstrain SF68 (SF68) dry-cow treatment.
Figure2
Figure2
Figure 2 The means and SE (n = 4) of total protein content of the plasma (A) and quarter secretion (B)
of experimental Holstein cows and their neonatal calves during dry period and at partum.
Experimental cows received dry-cow treatment on the first milk stasis day (d 1) when control
quarters received the regular antibiotics dry-cow formula and SF68 quarter received 5 × 108
CFU Enterococcus faeciumstrain SF68 (SF68) dry-cow treatment.
a,b,c
Values with different superscripts differ significantly (P < 0.05) among days in
experiment within the same quarter treatment.
x,y
Values with different superscripts differ significantly (P < 0.05) between control and
SF68 quarters within the same day in experiment.
Electrophoretic profiles of the proteinous components of plasma and mammary
secretion of Holstein cows having received Entercoccus faecium SF68 dry-cow treatment
326
Figure3
Figure 3 The means and SE (n = 4) of the abundance of proteinous components of plasma (A) and
quarter secretion (B) collected during dry period and at partum of experimental Holstein
cows and their neonatal calves. Experimental cows received dry-cow treatment on the first
milk stasis day (d 1) when control quarters received the regular antibiotics dry-cow formula
and SF68 quarter received 5 × 108 CFU Enterococcus faeciumstrain SF68 (SF68) dry-cow
treatment.
a,b,c
Values with different superscripts differ significantly (P < 0.05) among days in experiment
within the same quarter treatment.
x,y
Values with different superscripts differ significantly (P < 0.05) between control and SF68
quarters within the same day in experiment.
327
中國畜牧學會會誌　第四十四卷　第四期
DISCUSSION
The current study used an optimized SDS-PAGE to preliminarily estimate the levels of major
proteinous components in the plasma, dry secretion, and colostrum of Holstein cows received a
SF68 dry-cow treatment. We showed an apparently increase of Lf level in acutely drying-off gland,
which might be beneficial to the humoral defense inside mammary gland, and a marginal increase
of γ-globulin level in the initial colostrum, which might be beneficial to the transfer of passive
immunity to neonates. However, both increases were absent as nearly homeostatic plasma γ-globulin
and albumin level were observed. Dietary supplementation with SF68 has been showen to fail to
affect total serum IgG or fecal IgA level of pregnant sows but slightly decreased the total serum IgG
level in piglets (Scharek et al., 2005). The current study was the first to examine the intramammary
tolerance of cows towards probiotic treatment and no obvious systemic effect from SF68 was noticed.
Real control cows receiving no antibiotics, or SF68, or combined antibiotic and SF68 are necessary
to further confirm it. Whereas, we observed a decline of plasma γ-globulin level at partum,
which might related to the active transcytosis of Ig across the blood-milk barrier into colostrums
during peripartum. Also, the noticed much lower plasma γ-globulin level in neonates justifies the
importance of colostrum suckling immediately after birth.
The current SDS-PAGE results revealed seemingly different molecular size between plasma
γ-globulin and milk γ-globulin, where the plasma γ-globulin, cow and neonate, was relatively
smaller. Physiologically, IgG1 and IgG2 are present as monomers ( ～ 150 kDa), IgA as a monomer
or a dimer ( ～ 385 kDa), while IgM as a hexamer ( ～ 900 kDa) (Elfstrand et al., 2002). Our
definition of γ-globulin should have included all Ig classes except IgM. In bovine whey, IgG1 is
the most abundant Ig class, about 0.60 mg/mL, followed by sIgA, in 0.13 mg/mL, IgM in 0.04 mg/
mL, and IgG2 in 0.05 mg/mL, approximately (Butler, 1994). In bovine initial colostrum, IgG1 is even
more selectively enriched, about 52 - 87 mg/mL, followed by IgM 3.7 - 6.1 mg/mL, sIgA 3.2 - 6.2 mg/
mL, and IgG2 1.6 - 2.1 mg/mL (Elfstrand et al., 2002). Milk IgG1 and IgG2 are derived from blood
through FcRn-receptor mediated transcytosis (Baumrucker et al., 2010). In contrast, milk IgA and IgM
are mostly locally produced and IgA is released accompanying by a secretory component, or as sIgA
(Ostensson and Lun, 2008). We estimate that over 80% of the γ-globulin in cow plasma and mammary
secretion was IgG1. Due to the mucosal origin of sIgA, a relatively higher sIgA level is present in dry
secretion and colostrums than in the plasma of cows.
In contrast to its counterpart in plasma, BSA level in dry secretion and colostrum was very low,
but there was a seemingly increasing trend acutely after milk stasis. BSA concentration was reported
to be 40 to 45 mg/mL in cow plasma, while only about 0.2 mg/mL in regular milk (Rainard and
Riollet, 2006). In involuting mammary gland, plasma albumin exudates more extensively through
the leaky tight junction (Rainard and Riollet, 2006) despite some BSA could also be produced locally
(Shamay et al., 2005). Although the identity of BSA in the current dry secretion and colostrum is yet
to be confirmed by immuno-assay, the characteristic increasing BSA level in involuting mammary
gland is evidential.
Electrophoretic profiles of the proteinous components of plasma and mammary
secretion of Holstein cows having received Entercoccus faecium SF68 dry-cow treatment
328
Concomitant to the increased BSA level in dry secretion, the increasing of Lf level was even
more prominent. The bacteriostatic and bactericidal activities of milk Lf would be of low efficiency
during lactation because of its low concentration. But when the mammary gland is involuting, milk
yield would decrease dramatically and so the Lf concentration would be considerably augmented.
Our results confirmed the reported 24 - 48 hr delay in increase of Lf concentration compared to the
increase of BSA concentration in milk (Harmon et al., 1976; Rainard, 1983). Most of the milk Lf
is produced by mammary epithelial cells with only about 5% accounted for by resident neutrophils
(Harmon and Newbound, 1980). A moderate to high expression of Lf was found moderate to high in
the epithelium lining the ducts and cisterns and no expression or low expression in lactating alveoli,
or proximal end of the teat canal (Molenaar et al., 1996). Bovine milk contains very little Lf (20
to 200 µg/mL) compared with human milk (1 to 2 mg/mL) or sow's milk (0.5 mg/mL). Bovine
colostrum may contain 2 to 5 mg Lf/mL, and dry secretion can contain 20 to 100 mg Lf/mL (Rainard
and Riollet, 2006). To obtain the accurate contents of Lf in our dry secretion samples, however,
quantitative ELISA kit would be necessary and it is set to be performed in the near future. The current
SDS-PAGE revealed high Lf level in dry secretion on d 7, even higher than casein or γ-globulin.
This characteristic abundance of Lf in dry secretion also helps its self-confirmation. Yet more specific
immune-assay is necessary for unambiguously identification.
CONCLUSION
Results of an optimized semi-quantitative SDS-PAGE indicated that SF68 dry-cow treatment has
the potential to, in short-term, elevate the Lf level of dry secretion and benefit the humoral defense of
drying-off mammary glands and, in long-term, promote the accumulation of γ-globulin in colostrum
and benefit the passive immunity of neonates without affecting the homeostais of plasma γ-globulin
or albumin level.The underline cell-level mechanisms warrant extensive investigation. These are extra
potential benefits of SF68 dry-cow treatment besides alleviation the resistance problems associated
with antibiotics dry-cow formula.
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中國畜牧學會會誌 44(4)：320~331, 2015
荷蘭乳牛接受屎腸球菌（Entercoccus faecium
SF68）之乾乳處理後其血漿及乳腺分泌物蛋
白質成分之電泳輪廓
(1)　巨偉龍
(1)　張芳毓
(1)　林珮祺
(1)　劉文博
(1)　陳洵一
摘要：乾乳期可使乳腺充分重組，並且有助身體將營養用於準備下次乳期之乳
汁生成及胎兒之快速生長。乳牛之抗生素乾乳乳膏已在世界各地實行，用以保
護乳腺於乾乳期之健康問題。為了幫助減少抗生素使用之殘留疑慮，本研究使
用乳房內益生菌乾乳處理，並根據血漿、乾乳分泌物及初乳中蛋白成份之變化
來評估成效。研究採用跨乳房之平衡處理，於停止搾乳的第一天，將每頭乳牛
任選其前方與後方之各一分房，施予常規之抗生素乾乳乳膏（對照分房），其
相對側之分房則施予 5×108 CFU 屎腸球菌 SF68（Enterococcus faecium SF68,
SF68 分房 ) 及半劑之抗生素乾乳藥膏 .SDS-PAGE 結果初步顯示，在血漿中 γ球蛋白與白蛋白之分佈保持相對恆定時，乾乳期第一週之分房分泌物中乳鐵蛋
白與血清蛋白之分佈，在 SF68 分房顯著高於對照分房，且初始初乳中 γ- 球蛋
白之分佈，也是在 SF68 分房有高於對照分房之趨勢。本研究認為，使用 SF68
進行乾乳牛乳房處理，短期內可能有利於乾乳乳腺之體液性防禦，長期效益則
可能有助於新生兒被動免疫之轉移，此外也可幫助減少乳牛抗生素乾乳乳膏之
使用。
（關鍵語：初乳、乾乳牛處理、電泳、屎腸球菌 SF68、荷蘭乳牛）
(1)
(2)
國立中興大動物科學系，40227 台中市國光路 250 號。
通訊作者，E-mail: crchang@mail.nchu.edu.tw
(1)(2)
張釵如