Investigating Lactoferrin and Somatic Cell Count Dynamics in Early Postpartum Shami and Baladi Goats

Montaser Elsayed Ali¹Mohamed Abdelrahman²Asem Zakaria³Belal Farrag Farag¹Ragab Hassan Mohamed⁴Hayat Fayed⁵Ibrahim Samir Abd El- Hamid⁶Fatma Ali⁷Rabee M Gheetas¹Safaa Y Nour⁸Min Gao^10,9*

• ¹Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
• ²Animal Production Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Assuit University, Asyut, Egypt, Assiut, Egypt
• ³Department of Food Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aswan University, Aswan, Egypt, ASWAN, Egypt
• ⁴Department of Theriogenology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aswan University, Aswan, Egypt, ASWAN, Egypt
• ⁵Department of Animal Medicine (Internal Medicine), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Benha, Benha, Egypt
• ⁶Department of Animal Physiology, animal and Poultry Production Division, Desert Research Centre, Egypt, Cairo, Egypt
• ⁷Physiology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aswan University, Aswan, Egypt, Aswan, Egypt
• ⁸Animal Medicine Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aswan University, Aswan, Egypt, Aswan, Egypt
• ⁹State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Regulation & Breeding of Grassland Livestock, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China, Hohhot, China
• ¹⁰National Sheep Genetic Evaluation Centre, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010070, China, Hohhot, China

Earlier studies found that milk lactoferrin (LF) concentration was significantly associated with somatic cell count (SCC) dynamics and lactation stage was related to milk production and mammary gland health, which helps determine the physiopathological conditions and goats' postpartum activity. The presented study aimed to design an integrated monitoring system among LF and SCC dynamics and hematological indices over the postpartum timeline in Baladi and Shami goats. After collecting the data, the Shami and Baladi groups were compared using independent t-tests, and Pearson's correlation analysis was performed between variables. This study reported that Shami and Baladi goats' LF concentrations and SCC had fallen incrementally from day 1 to 35 days postpartum (DPP), and both LF and SCC showed (p < 0.05) correlation in early DPP. However, Baladi goats were significantly higher (P < 0.01) in milk yield, fat percentage, and protein at 15 DPP than Shami goats. Also,no significant differences (P > 0.05) were found in salts, solids, not fat, and total solids between the two groups at 35 DPP. However, total protein, albumin, and globulin-related parameters were significantly higher (P < 0.01) at 15 DPP in Baladi compared to Shami goats. The Baladi goats were significantly higher for energy-related parameters and total protein and globulin-related parameters at 35 DPP. As expected, some correlation (p < 0.05) between LF and SCC was also seen during early DPP. Furthermore, Shami goats lymphocytes (LYM) × 10³/μL, granulocytes (GRA), hemoglobin (HGB), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were significantly higher (P < 0.05) at 15 DPP. Also, at 35 DPP, white blood cells (WBC), lymphocytes (LYM), and monocytes (MONO) were lower in the Shami goats. In conclusion, this study provides essential physiological benchmarks for tracking goat lactation recovery by showing distinctive patterns of lactoferrin and somatic cell count dynamics and hematological adaptation during the postpartum period.