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Composition of Skin Secretions from Three Indian Breeds of Cattle Under Thermal Stress

Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, U. P. India and Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

ABSTRACT

Six 12- to 24-month-old heifers from each of the three breeds, Hariana, Tharparkar, and Gir were used to determine composition of skin surface secretions produced under hot, humid conditions (dry bulb temperature, 40.5 C and wet bulb, 35.0 C). The secretions were collected from shaved areas on the rump by absorbing the secretions in pieces of filter paper placed over the body surface. The color ranged from dark gray to brown, indicating the presence of the pigment, melanin, All samples gave uniformly high alkaline reactions (average pH 7.8). The fluids were hypotonic to blood plasma but contained inorganic phosphorus, total and nonprotein nitrogen, reducing sugars, and lactic acid in concentrations much higher than values reported for whole blood or plasma. The results show that similar to horses, cattle sweat has high contents of total protein nitrogen and inorganic salt and a relatively high urea content. The low chloride secretion indicates that under hot conditions cattle do not have a need for large amounts of salt replacement in the diet. On the other hand, the high losses of total protein nitrogen could be a factor in the poor performance of cattle under thermal stress. The composition of the secretions from the three Indian breeds agrees with that found for European breeds of cattle and horses.