Possible Markers Showing the Hygienic Quality of Bulk Milk and Applicability in Estimating Bulk Tank Somatic Cell Counts

Abstract

To evaluate useful markers for estimating somatic cell counts (SCC) in bulk milk, electronic conductivity (EC), N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAGase) activity, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, chemiluminescence (CL) units, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels and lactoferrin (Lf) concentrations in milk were measured for comparison with their SCC values. The SCC values correlated significantly (P<0.05, 0.01) with both the CL and LDH values. The measurement of ATP in milk appears to have application in estimating SCC levels in bulk milk.