Effect of dietary iodine supplementation on quality of cow's milk

ABSTRACT

To elucidate the influence of dietary iodine supplementation on quality of cow's milk 20 dairy Friesian cows were supplemented with potassium iodide for 7 weeks [at a dose of 0.2 mg/kg body weight] and another 20 Friesian cows, as a control group, were used. Milk samples were collected under aseptic conditions and subjected to chemical and bacteriological examination. The results indicated a significant increase in milk fat and protein percentage in iodine supplemented cows. On the other h and, the milk of control animals showed a significant increase in acidity percentage. Also, the methylene blue reduction time was much reduced than that of iodine supplemented cow's milk. Besides, a significant increase in both microbial counts and percentage of isolated microorganisms in milk of control animals than that of iodine supplemented ones. It can be concluded that, dietary iodine supplementation could be successfully used for improving milk quality