Effect of bovine Azawak colostrum administration on plasma protein profile in red kid.

This study evaluated the impact of heterologous Azawak colostrum administration on plasma protein profile in red kids from Niger. Forty (40) newborn kids were affected to one of two treatments: control group (access to water and the mother) and colostrum group (access to the mother, water and additional 50 ml of colostrum Azawak/animal the day of birth, then 25ml/animal/day from the 2nd to 15th day). Blood samples (10ml/animal) were obtained at the age of 10 and 30 days by jugular puncture into EDTA vacutainer tubes. The quantification of total protein was performed by the Biuret method. The agarose gel electrophoresis was used to determine serum levels of albumin, ɑ-globulin, β1-globulin, β2-globulin, γ-globulin and finally the albumin/globulin ratio. In general, the average concentrations of these proteins obtained at both ages reached higher values in colostrum than in control group. At day 10, the colostrum group tended to show (P <0.07) higher levels for ɑ-globulin and showed higher values (P <0.04) for β1-globulin. At day 30, total protein and β2-globulins were higher in colostrum group. The administration of heterologous colostrum in kid seems to have positive effects on some plasma parameters. It would be worth to discriminate the plasma proteins derived from bovine and maternal colostra.