Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Buffer and Application of Herbal Teat Dip on the Milk Composition of Lactating Rathi Cattle

The livestock sector in India is a significant contributor to the country’s economy and plays a crucial role in the livelihoods of millions of people. When concentrating on the dairy subsector, it becomes even more apparent how important it is. India has the largest dairy sector in the world, where 23% of the world’s milk is produced. The sector supports more than 8 crore farmers directly and provides 5% of the country’s economic output (DAHD 2021). But the dairy industry faces its fair share of challenges in the form of growing demand and awareness among consumers regarding the quality of milk and milk products. This compiled with the low per capita productivity among the indigenous cattle which is 1777 kg when compared to the world average of 2699 kg (FAO statistics 2020), poses as a threat for the development of the Indian dairy sector.
       
One of the chief causes behind the reduced productivity of indigenous cattle is sub-clinical mastitis. Annual losses in the dairy industry due to mastitis was almost 2.37 thousand crore rupees in India. Out of this, sub-clinical mastitis accounted for approximately 70% of the loss (Lakshmi, 2016). According to Singh et al., (2014), higher yielding crossbred cows and buffaloes suffered greater economic losses per lactation than native cows and buffaloes (INR 868.34 and INR 1,272.36, respectively). In sub-clinical mastitis there are no clinical signs shown by the animal and only changes occur in milk constituents that can affect the shelf-life and quality of milk. This is one of the reasons why sub-clinical mastitis is much more of a complicacy for the dairy farmers as it becomes a herd problem.
 
As per Yousaf et al., (2010), there is a need for well-designed therapeutic strategies to support suitable treatment regimens against mastitis. Alternative methods for the treatment and management of bovine health have been planned, keeping in mind the drawbacks of antibiotic therapy. Among such interventions, there has been the employment of buffers such as trisodium citrate and the use of herbs that not only improve the quality of milk by boosting its constituents but also combat the problem of sub-clinical mastitis. The importance of trisodium citrate can be seen in its role as buffer agent for the udder that regulates its pH at 6.5 along with maintenance of the H⁺ and Ca²⁺ homeostasis in udder (Shennan and Peaker, 2000). Studies have shown that trisodium citrate is helpful in improving the milk composition such as milk fat percent and milk SNF percent. Herbs on the other hand, have been known for their antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and anti-pyretic properties. Beneficial effects of herbs in farm animals may arise from the activation of feed intake and the secretion of digestive secretions, immune stimulation and antibacterial activity (Bhargav et al., 2021). These properties have been utilized to improve the udder health and boost milk quality. Plants that have essential oils may offer an affordable way to enhance milk production efficiency and improve the nutritional quality of milk in dairy cows (Bhargav et al., 2021). As a vital aspect of prevention against diseases like sub-clinical mastitis is proper management and milking care, application of post-milking teat dip can be a good strategy. Poly-herbal mixtures are thought to help start, sustain, or boost milk production while also enhancing udder health (Subhash et al., 2016). There is a considerable interest in developing new strategies to improve the milk quality of dairy cattle and enhance the clean milk production practices in the country.
       
Thus, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation of trisodium citrate and application of herbal post-milking teat dip on the milk quality of Rathi cattle.

Experiment location
 
The study was conducted at the Livestock Research Station, Bikaner located at College of Veterinary and Animal Science, Bikaner, Rajasthan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Bikaner.
 
Experimental design
 
The trial was conducted over a period of 60 days from Dec 2023 to February 2024 to study the effect of oral supplementation with buffer as well as the application of herbal teat dip on the performance of lactating Rathi cattle.  The twenty-four Rathi cattle utilized in the study were divided into four groups viz., T₁, T₂, T₃ and T₄. The animals were divided based on their body weight; total lactation yield as well as peak yield. The T₁ group was the control group which was given the basal diet. T₂ group was supplemented with buffer Trisodium Citrate at the rate of 30 mg/kg BW once daily in evening at the time of milking along with concentrate mixture. The third treatment Group T₃ was given the topical application of Herbal Teat dip preparation containing Aloe vera gel (300 g), Turmeric (50 g), Castor oil (50 g) and Lemon extract (50 ml) twice daily post-milking. Lastly, the fourth treatment or Group T₄ received the combination of oral trisodium citrate as well as herbal teat dip at the time of milking. The nutritional requirements of cows were met as per NRC (2001) and clean freshwater was supplied ad libitum.
 
Measurements
 
Milk parameters
 
The milk parameters such as milk fat per cent, milk SNF percent, milk lactose percent and milk protein per cent were estimated at a 10-day interval.
 
Statistical analysis
 
The experimental data were subjected to statistical analysis (SPSS Ver. 24.0) using one way analysis of variance as described by Snedecor and Cochran (2004) to test for significant variation between treatment groups.
       
Probabilities values of less than 0.05 (P<0.05) were considered significant. Wherever, the variance ratio (F-values) was found to be significant as 0.05 or 0.01 levels of probability the comparison of mean values was carried out by Duncan’s multiple range test (Duncan, 1955).

Milk fat percent
 
The overall mean values of milk fat per cent as shown in Table 1 reveals milk fat per cent was highest for TT₃ group (4.91%) and comparable with T₄ group (4.90%) followed by T₃ group (4.71%) along with T₁ (4.27%). The statistical analysis of overall mean values of milk fat percent showed a significant difference (P<0.05).
 

       
The results of the present study revealed that there was significant effect of oral supplementation of trisodium citrate and application of herbal teat dip as well as the combination of both on the overall milk fat per cent of lactating Rathi cattle. The results are similar to the findings of Rathaur et al., (2020) where they studied the effect of herbal udder paste as well as trisodium citrate supplementation on milk quality of cattle and revealed that the values of milk fat were higher for the treatment group receiving herbal udder paste as compared to the group receiving trisodium citrate supplementation. The values of both treatment groups were found to be higher than those of the control group. The study conducted by Biradar et al., (2022) also revealed similar results where the application of post-milking teat dips leads to a significant increase in the milk fat (%) of the treatment groups as compared to control. This could be because trisodium citrate serves as a precursor of propionate which is a crucial compound for fatty acid synthesis in ruminants. Thus, the consequent improvement of fatty acids may also boost the milk fat per cent.
 
Milk SNF per cent
 
The highest overall mean value of milk SNF percent as shown in Table 2 was found to be of T₄ group (9.5%) followed by T₃ group (9.19%), T₂ group (9.16%) and T₁ group (8.93%). There was a highly significant difference (P<0.01) found in the overall mean values of milk SNF percent of the treatment groups and the control group.  The overall mean values of T₁, T₂ and T₃ groups were comparable. The results of the current study revealed that the combination of oral supplementation of trisodium citrate and application of the herbal teat dip has a significant effect on the milk SNF percent of lactating Rathi cattle. These findings are cohesive with the results of Biradar et al., (2022) where they revealed a significant effect of herbal teat dips on improvement of milk SNF per cent. Keshamoni-Ramesh et al., (2021) also reported higher values of milk SNF percent for the treatment groups supplemented with trisodium citrate as well as those receiving the herbal udder paste. The reason for this increased milk SNF per cent can be due to trisodium citrate as it supports the activity of enzymes like citrate synthase (an enzyme involved in Krebs cycle) that increases the metabolism of glucose which leads to an increased milk production. Additionally, the chelating properties of trisodium citrate for Ca²⁺ ions increase the enzyme activity for higher casein synthesis which increases the milk SNF per cent. The herbal teat dip maybe indirectly responsible in improving the milk SNF per cent by reducing the udder inflammation along with anti-bacterial action that improve the health status of animal and therefore increase milk production.
 

 
Milk lactose per cent
 
The data given in Table 3 show that the overall mean values of milk lactose (%) were recorded to be highest in T₄ group (4.90%) followed by T₁ group (4.71%), T₃ group (4.71%) and T₂ group (4.52%). The statistical analysis of the data showed that there was no significant effect (P>0.05) of the supplementation of buffer and application of herbal teat dip on the milk lactose (%) of the treatment groups as compared to the control group. However, the treatment groups showed an improvement trend in terms of milk lactose (%) in comparison to control. These findings are in accordance with the results obtained by Sahu et al., (2022) where the oral supplementation of trisodium citrate resulted in no significant change in the milk lactose (%) of the experimental animals.
 

 
Milk protein per cent
 
The data given in Table 4 show that overall mean values of milk protein (%) recorded were highest in T₄ group (3.72%) followed by T₂ group (3.56%), T₃ group (3.40%) and T₁ group (3.29%). The statistical analysis of the data showed that there was no significant effect (P>0.05) of the supplementation of buffer and application of herbal teat dip on the milk protein (%) of the treatment groups as compared to the control group. The treatment groups showed an improvement trend in terms of milk protein (%). This finding is in coherence with the findings of Dhillon et al., (1995), Singh et al., (1997) and Rathaur et al., (2020) and which showed that there was no significant effect in milk protein (%) of the treatment groups supplemented with trisodium citrate as well as those which received application of herbal teat dip separately. Lee et al., (2014) and Mbonwanayo et al., (2016) also reported no significant change in the milk protein of cattle supplemented with buffer although the treatment groups had a higher value of milk protein (%) as compared to the control group at the completion of the trial.
 

India’s dairy sector is an important contributor to its economy where the changing trends of consumer demand for high-quality milk and milk products should pave the way for development of newer strategies that improve the quality of milk among the indigenous dairy cattle. The results of present study have revealed that incorporation of buffers like trisodium citrate as well as the use of post milking herbal teat dips is helpful in improving milk fat percent and milk SNF per cent in lactating Rathi cattle. These strategies can therefore be utilized in dairy farms as they have proven to be vital in improving the milk quality. Further, such strategies can boost the clean milk production practices to improve the overall milk hygiene and milk productivity of lactating Rathi cattle.

It is declared by the authors that there is no conflict of interest or competing interests.