Effects of environmental and other stressors on blood hormone patterns in lactating animals.
Abstract: Recent data on various environmental stressors and blood hormone patterns are presented for lactating cattle. Known stressor effects of such factors as environmental temperature, air pollution, and noise on the plasma thyroxine, growth hormone, cortisol, prolactin, progesterone, luteinzing hormone, epinephrine, and norepinephrine of lactating cattle are discussed. Information on stressor effects is lacking on glucagon, insulin, vasopressin, calcitonin, oxytocin, thyrotrophic hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, melatonin, parathyroid hormone, and estrogens in the lactating cow. The importance of evaluating both the effect of environmental stressor and of production or lactation intensity is emphasized in the overall interpretation of changes in hormone of plasma. The short and long term environmental heat effects on thyroxine, cortisol, and growth hormone are clear with initial increased due to acute stressors and a decline of amounts in plasma after prolonged exposure to stressors. The relationship of amounts in plasma of these hormones to milk production appears to be related directly for cortisol, growth hormone, and prolactin with an inverse relationship with thyroxine. Epinephrine and norepinephrine seem to be elevated with prolonged environmental heat stress. However, the influence of intensity of lactation has not been measured. Hormones in plasma as they relate to stressor effects and milk production are important as potential indicators of the physiological state of a cow and reflect the physiological compensations a cow undergoes at various lactation intensities and/or stress exposure.
Publication Date: 1976-09-01 PubMed ID: 987081DOI: 10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(76)84413-XGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The research article discusses the impact of environmental and other stressors on the blood hormone patterns in lactating cattle, and how these changes can potentially indicate the cow’s physiological state.
Study Overview
- The study focuses on the effects of various stressors including environmental temperature, air pollution, and noise on the plasma levels of several hormones in lactating cattle.
- These hormones include thyroxine, growth hormone, cortisol, prolactin, progesterone, luteinzing hormone, epinephrine, and norepinephrine.
- However, it is noted that there is insufficient information on how various stressors affect hormones such as glucagon, insulin, vasopressin, calcitonin, oxytocin, thyrotrophic hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, melatonin, parathyroid hormone, and estrogens in lactating cows.
- The researchers emphasise the need to assess both the effect of an environmental stressor and of lactation intensity to interpret changes in plasma hormone levels accurately.
Key Findings
- The study reveals that both short-term and long-term exposure to environmental stressors, particularly heat, has clear effects on the levels of thyroxine, cortisol, and growth hormone in lactating cows.
- Initially, these hormones increase due to acute stressors but their level in plasma decreases after prolonged exposure to the same stressors.
- The levels of cortisol, growth hormone, and prolactin are found to be in direct proportion to milk production, while thyroxine shows an opposite trend.
- This suggests a possible association between presence of these hormones in plasma and milk yield.
- Epinephrine and norepinephrine levels seem to elevate with prolonged environmental heat stress, but it remains unclear whether the intensity of lactation has any effect on these hormones.
Significance of the Study
- The study suggests the potential of using hormone levels in plasma as indicators of the physiological status of cows.
- This would provide a measure of how different cows response to varying lactation intensities and stress exposures allowing for better cattle management.
- However, the study also highlights the areas that require further investigation, such as the impact of different stressors on hormones which currently lack sufficient data.
Cite This Article
APA
Johnson HD, Vanjonack WJ.
(1976).
Effects of environmental and other stressors on blood hormone patterns in lactating animals.
J Dairy Sci, 59(9), 1603-1617.
https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(76)84413-X Publication
Researcher Affiliations
MeSH Terms
- Adrenal Cortex Hormones / blood
- Air Pollution
- Animals
- Catecholamines / blood
- Cattle
- Environment
- Female
- Gonadal Steroid Hormones / blood
- Hormones / blood
- Horses
- Humans
- Humidity
- Lactation
- Noise
- Pancreatic Hormones / blood
- Pituitary Hormones / blood
- Pregnancy
- Stress, Physiological / etiology
- Stress, Physiological / metabolism
- Stress, Psychological
- Temperature
- Thyroid Hormones / blood
- Wind
Citations
This article has been cited 18 times.- Williams SRO, Moate PJ, Garner JB, Hannah MC, Giri K, Wales WJ, Marett LC. Dairy Cows Offered Fresh Chicory Instead of Ensiled Pasture during an Acute Heat Challenge Produced More Milk and Had Lower Body Temperatures.. Animals (Basel) 2023 Feb 27;13(5).
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- Most MS, Yates DT. Inflammatory Mediation of Heat Stress-Induced Growth Deficits in Livestock and Its Potential Role as a Target for Nutritional Interventions: A Review.. Animals (Basel) 2021 Dec 13;11(12).
- Williams SRO, Milner TC, Garner JB, Moate PJ, Jacobs JL, Hannah MC, Wales WJ, Marett LC. Dietary Fat and Betaine Supplements Offered to Lactating Cows Affect Dry Matter Intake, Milk Production and Body Temperature Responses to an Acute Heat Challenge.. Animals (Basel) 2021 Oct 30;11(11).
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