Honors College Thesis
 

Effect of acupuncture on somatic cell count, milk ion conductivity, and milk serum enzyme concentrations in dairy cattle with subclinical mastitis

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/honors_college_theses/2801pp84c

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  • The objective of this research was to determine if acupuncture can reduce bovine mammary inflammation. Lactating cows at the Oregon State University Dairy Research Center were selected based on Dairy Herd Improvement Association reports indicating a SCC >500,000 cells/mL. A California Mastitis Test (CMT) score of greater than one was used to qualitatively determine the quarter with the highest somatic cell count (SCC) (CMT score > 1). Pre-treatment milk samples were collected to determine quantitative SCC, aerobic bacterial content, milk ion conductivity, total protein, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAGase) concentrations. Using a cell counter, SCC was quantitatively measured. Bacteriological cultures were performed by the Oregon State University Rural Veterinary Practice service. Milk ion conductivity was measured using a handheld analyzer. Milk serum was prepared from milk samples by double centrifugation. Total protein was measured from milk serum using a refractometer. Concentrations of LDH and NAGase were determined using commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. All cows were treated with an intramammary infusion of ceftiofur hydrochloride administered once a day for two days. Cows were separated by randomly assigned to the acupuncture group (n=10) and a no- acupuncture (control) group (n=9). Both the acupuncture and control group were restrained for 30 minutes in a head catch 12 hours apart for a total of four times. For front quarters affected by subclinical mastitis, the acupuncture points used were spleen (SP) 12, SP 17, SP 18, SP 21, stomach (ST) 18, and conception vessel (CV) 12. For rear quarters affected by subclinical mastitis, the acupuncture points used were bladder (BL) 30, BL 30-1, BL 49, kidney (KI) 10, conception vessel (CV) 2, CV 3. Post-treatment milk samples were collected 12 days after treatment. CMT score, SCC, milk ion conductivity, milk serum total protein LDH and NAGase concentrations were compared between acupuncture and control cows using a Students t test. Significance was defined as p<0.05. Compared to control cows, acupuncture treatment reduced NAGase enzymatic activity in the rear quarters of cows with subclinical mastitis. The reduction in NAGase level suggests that acupuncture treatment may be associated with healing of the damaged mammary epithelial cells, which are the primary source of NAGase activity in milk serum. However, acupuncture treatment did not affect CMT score, direct SCC, milk ion conductivity, percentage of cows with bacterial infections, milk serum total protein or LDH enzymatic activity. Key Words: Cow, Infection, Lactate Dehydrogenase, N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Udder
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  • Pending Publication
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  • 2020-05-18 to 2021-06-19

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