Effect of the inflammation of the mammary gland on the content of macro- and microelements in milk

The influence of the somatic cell count (SCC) on the content of macro- and microelements in cow's milk was analyzed. The experiment was carried out on 130 cows in farms of the southern Podlasie region in Poland. The SCC in the cow's milk was determined. The material was divided into four classes, which corresponded to the number of somatic cells in 1 ml of milk. SCC thresholds adopted were as follows: below 200,000; 200,000-400,000; 401,000-1,000,000 and above 1,000,000 cells/ml. The contents of macroelements (Cl, Ca, Na, K and Mg) and microelements (Fe, Zn and Mn) were analyzed in 80 milk samples (20 samples in each class). The contents of Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn and Mn were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). Na and K were determined by flame atomic emission spectrometry (EAS), and the content of Cl was determined by Mohr's method. The somatic cell count was found to have a highly significant effect (pL0.01) on chloride and sodium contents in milk. The chloride content increased from 0.116% to 0.126%, and the sodium content increased from 394.4 mg kg(-1) to 538.9 mg . kg(-1) with an increase in the SCC from 200,000 to above 1,000,000 in 1 ml of milk, whereas the contents of the other chemical elements analyzed showed a decreasing trend.