Changes in Saliva Analytes Associated with Lameness in Cows: A Pilot Study.

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Medicine
• Biochemistry
• Animal Science

Background:

• Bovine lameness is a significant welfare and economic concern in the dairy industry.
• Accurate diagnostic tools for lameness are crucial for timely intervention and herd management.
• Salivary analytes offer a non-invasive method for assessing animal health status.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate changes in salivary analytes in cows with lameness before and after treatment.
• To identify potential salivary biomarkers for bovine lameness.
• To compare salivary analyte levels between lame and healthy cows.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 21 salivary analytes in cows with lameness pre- and post-hoof trimming.
• Comparison of identified analytes in a larger group of lame cows versus healthy controls.
• Correlation analysis of analyte levels with lameness severity scores (NRS and LSS).

Main Results:

• Salivary lipase and total esterase (TEA) were significantly higher in lame cows before treatment compared to after.
• Only TEA showed significantly higher activity in lame cows (n=11) compared to healthy cows (n=11).
• TEA levels positively correlated with lameness severity scores (NRS and LSS).

Conclusions:

• Elevated salivary TEA levels are associated with lameness in cows.
• TEA levels decrease after successful lameness treatment via hoof trimming.
• TEA shows potential as a non-invasive biomarker for bovine lameness, warranting further investigation in larger, diverse populations.