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Comparative Serum Constituents in Brahman and Angus Cows¹

Department of Animal Science, University of Arizona, Tucson

ABSTRACT

Much interest has been manifested in the physiological factors that relate to performance of cattle under different environments. The adaptability of cattle to nutritional and environmental stress is thought to be related to genetic control of nutrient utilization. Consequently, many have studied levels of certain blood constituents in different breeds of cattle. Oklahoma workers (7) found little difference in levels of serum calcium, phosphorus, ascorbic acid, hemoglobin, carotene, or vitamin A between Hereford, Angus, and Shorthorn cattle. However, it has been well established that different breeds of dairy cattle vary markedly in levels of serum vitamin A and carotene. Texas workers found in Brahman breeds of cattle that the level of alkaline phosphatase (4) in the serum was twice as high and the reduced-glutathione content (5) was lower, compared to European breeds of cattle.

Serum protein fractions are important to nutrient utilization, since they form a transportation mechanism for many nonwater-soluble materials such as vitamin A, carotene (2), and cholesterol (1).

¹ Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Paper No. 538.