Evaluation of the biological activation of plasmin plasminogen system in sheep and goat milk

Abstract

Milk composition and quality are affected by several factors of which stage of lactation and mammary gland health status represent the main ones. These two factors become more effective in small dairy ruminants, for which stage of lactation is synchronized as result of the seasonal breeding cycle. As a consequence in dairy sheep and goats milk quality and cheese making properties tend to decline. Most of these effects on milk quality are also associated with an increase in the somatic cell count (SCC), which is in turn related with the gradual involution of mammary gland with the lactation progress (Fantuz et al., 2001; Baldi et al., 2002). However, high SCC in milk could be related to intramammary infections (IMI), sub-clinical and chronic mastitis in both sheep and goats.

Keywords

• plasmin, plasminogen activator, milk, small ruminants