Agarose gel electrophoretic fractionation of serum proteins in adult cattle. I. A study of clinically healthy cows.

Blood samples were taken from 25 clinically healthy Swedish red-and-white dairy cows on 11 occasions in the course of about one year. The blood serum proteins were studied, chiefly by agarose gel electrophoresis, in respect of relative and absolute concentrations. The following parameters were studied: Total protein, albumin, total globulin, A/G quotient, α₁-, α₂-, inter-α-β-, β₁-, β₂- and γ-globulin. The material was analysed statistically in respect of variation between and within cows, and of age, pregnancy and seasonal variation. The variation between cows was found to be significantly greater than that between different samplings of the same cow. Older cows exhibited significantly higher γ-globulin concentrations. The variation with season and stage of pregnancy was less pronounced for most serum protein fractions.