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Histamine Concentration in Blood, Milk, and Urine of Dairy Cattle

Dairy Cattle Research Branch, Animal Husbandry Research Division, ARS Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, Maryland

ABSTRACT

Histamine concentration in blood, urine, and milk has been determined fluorimetrically. Blood histamine values in 19 growing Holstein heifers, from birth to 45 wk, averaged .29 µg/ml (range for an 11–14-wk period, .25 ± .08 to .36 ± .09 µg/ml). Eight bulls showed similar average blood values of .30 µg/ml (range, .25 ± .06 to .36 ± .09 µg/ml). Blood levels during this rapid growth period showed little change, values being slightly lower during the earlier weeks. Blood histamine concentration of five animals sampled at 6-hr intervals for three days indicated little diurnal variation. Such repetitive sampling was, however, associated with a progressive increase in histamine level. Twenty-five milk samples from 15 cows were analyzed for histamine, the mean concentration being .51 ± .34 µg/ml. When the fluorimetric histamine procedure was applied to urine, four samples from heifers fed alfalfa-grass hay showed a mean concentration of 1.10 ± .91 µg/ml, whereas four samples from animals fed alfalfa-grass silage were 19.53 ± 16.42 µg/ml. These concentrations averaged about 20 to 30 times those in blood. Computed daily urinary excretion was 2–12 and 48–356 mg, respectively, for the hay- and silage-fed animals.