Manipulation of milk production and quality by use of somatotropin in dairy ruminants other than cow.

The ability of recombinant bovine somatotropin (BST) to enhance milk production is well established in cows and in other dairy ruminants. In dairy ewes, we found increased milk yield (20-30%) following treatment with BST, which did not negatively affect the gross composition or coagulating properties of milk, except in the advanced stage of lactation, when the percentages of milk protein and fat were reduced and the coagulation time was improved (shorter) compared with untreated animals. In dairy goats, administration of BST increased overall milk yield by 14-29%. Our studies and those of others on the Italian river buffalo showed that BST treatment increased milk yield by about 17%, or more, when associated with dietary protected fat, without affecting milk protein content. In general, studies on dairy ruminants show that treatment with BST increases milk production in the short term (immediate postinjection period) and that there is also a medium to long term effect on persistency of lactation. There is evidence that mammary gland involution can be at least partially reversed by BST administration, and this could be due to limitation in the decrease in mammary parenchyma as lactation progresses and/or to modulation of the plasmin-plasminogen system.