Secretory function and capacity system of the buffalo udder
Buffalo production takes a leading position on milk gross production of in the world. The USA and other developed countries import buffalo herd for their organic production and integrated study. Ukrainian gene pool selection buffalo herd has been established in Ukraine in "Golosiyevo" Ltd. of Brovary district, Kyiv region. The research aims at investigating peculiarities of milk secretion in buffalo. They were compared with those of cows and goats of wide-spread breeds. Milk is produced by mammary gland and is it is a very complex biological fluid by its nature. Producing milk is a complex biological process. Milk is secreted as an integrated system rather than by individual components, although milk fat occupies a special position in this holistic system. Formation and removal of milk fat compared with other milk components has its own distinctive features. The high fat content in buffalo milk and its great lability are very favorable factors creating great opportunities for studying the physiological nature of the formation and removal of milk fat. Under modern level of using buffalos as a dairy cattle their udder capacity is not used fully. Udder capacity is apprised by the maximum milk yield. The maximum milk yield can be determined experimentally by means of artificial lengthening the interval between the milkings. Numerous scientific researches studied the basic laws of cows and goats udder filling capacities. It has been found out that milk outflows periodically into the capacitive system lower parts (tanks and ducts) as in the course of milk producing. By the next milking this part of the capacitive system can contain the amount of milk equal to that of half the amount of a single milking. It is enough to overcome the resistance of the sphincter nipple to remove this milk. Active milk flow is necessary to retrieve the rest of the milk. Different names were offered to designate these different milk portions or fractions of a single milking: the first portion is called a single milking tank, and the second one - the alveolar. Many physiological research laboratories defined the basic regularities of the allocation of these milk portions, as well as their physical-chemical properties and biological features. Buffalo females unlike cows and goats have no cistern milk portion. Their milk begins to flow out only after active milk output. There has been formulated the idea that according to udder functional features, there are two extreme types. i.e. prodromal and simultaneous ones with transitive intermediate steps. A peculiar feature of the prodromal type is the fact that the udder accumulates up to 100% of the milk and during milking and udder already contains the whole amount of a single milking. The simultaneous type, by contrast, contains only 25% of the amount a single milking and over 70% of the single milking is formed in the process of milking. Natural differences are obvious, especially those observed in indigenous cattle populations of gray Ukrainian, Carpathian brown, buffalo and others breeds. Buffaloes udder compared with that of dairy cattle modern breeds has a less developed capacitive system of lower parts of the udder. Buffalo udder requires more complete milk ejection reflex stimulation to complete the entire single milking yield. Thus, milk is secreted in the reflectory phase of milking in buffalos. It is preceded with latent period which is longer in buffalos than in cows and goats which should be considered. Synthesizing and milk returns (up to 70%) during a single milking in the udder milking is a physiological feature of the buffalo udder. This physiological feature buffalo udder should be considered in further improvement of milking machines and milking process.