Novel milk booster to enhance the milk yield
Two Sri Lankan veterinary scientists have developed a novel milk booster to help farmers enhance milk production in the country.
Dr. Anura Jayasooriya Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Biochemistry, Department of Basic Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine & Animal Science, University of Peradeniya and Dr. Gamika Prathapasinghe, senior lecturer of Wayamba University, hav formulated a product that would increase the milk yield of Milch cows by 30-50 per cent.
The major constitute of this product called ‘Kiriton’ is Calcium which is produced from locally available natural sources
“We have already conducted some preliminary trials with dairy cattle to evaluate the efficacy of this novel mineral mixture. The results obtained from the clinical trials on this product show unprecedented properties which none of the commercially available mineral supplements has shown before. The results revealed a 30-50 per cent increase of milk yield due to the feeding of this mineral mixture (milk booster)”, Dr. Jayasooriya told the Business Times.
Proper nutrition is considered as one of the key factors that affect the milk production by lactating cows. Feeding of roughages such as grass varieties as well as concentrates namely coconut poonac and rice bran is a common practice in the country. In addition, mineral supplements and other feed additives are also provided to improve the production level. Calcium (Ca) and Phosphorus (P) are mainly included in these mineral mixtures.
Proper supply of these key minerals is of paramount important for the maintenance of a healthy milk yield, Dr. Jayasooriya said.
However, almost all of the mineral supplements that are currently available in the market contain Di-Calcium Phosphate (DCP) as the major source of Ca and P. Though DCP is a cheap source, the bio-availability of Ca and P in DCP is relatively low. Therefore, the main objective of supplementation of Ca and P to the animal will not be fulfilled, he added.
He pointed out that this novel mineral mixture was developed as a milk booster rather than as a conventional mineral mixture.
Explaining the scientific aspect of the preparation of mineral mixture Dr. Prathapasinghe said that one of the scientific principles exploited in the formulation of this novel mineral supplement is the enhancement of water solubility of Ca and P.“We have exploited these facts by non-hormonal means in this novel mineral supplement. Presumably, for these reasons, we postulate that this product is not only a mineral mixture but also a milk booster, he said.
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