As mastitis is associated with leakage of small molecular weight plasma proteins, such as α1-antitrypsin, into milk, this antitrypsin can be used as an indicator of mastitis. A colorimetric procedure was developed for large scale monitoring of milk antitrypsin activity, using microtitration plates and the Multiskan system. The effect of stage of lactation and age of the cow on the antitrypsin concentration and its interrelationship with other mastitis indicators (bovine serum albumin (BSA), somatic cell count) was analysed by computer programs on 1029 cows. Milk antitrypsin activity was high after parturition owing to colostral inhibitors. After the first month of lactation the assay measures only blood-derived antitrypsin and is a good indicator for detecting an increased permeability between blood and milk due to mastitis. Increasing lactation number only slightly affected the antitrypsin and BSA concentrations whereas somatic cell content was markedly affected.

Changes in the level of the tissue damage marker enzyme, N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAGase) in quarter fore milks were found to be related to the presence and types of pathogenic bacteria present and to somatic cell counts (SCC). Minor pathogens (coagulase-negative staphylococci, Corynebacterium bovis) elicited a mild SCC increase (from a mean of 243 × 103/ml in healthy quarters to 504 × 103/ml in infected quarters) with marginal tissue damage (mean NAGase activity increased from 21 in healthy quarters to 28 in infected quarters). Major pathogens (i.e. Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Str. dysgalactiae and Str. uberis) caused more severe tissue damage (mean NAGase of 48) and SCC increases (mean, 2803 × 103/ml). The NAGase test could also be used effectively on composite milk samples where regular monthly NAGase analysis was able to identify correctly 74% of animals having infected quarters. The possibility of combining SCC and NAGase data in order to give a more definite diagnosis of bovine mastitis is discussed.

Growth of Streptococcus thermophilus was faster in mastitic milk, aseptically collected following intramammary infusion of Escherichia coli endotoxin, than in normal aseptically collected milk. The contribution of polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMN), of plasma and plasmin to this stimulation has been investigated. Addition of plasmin to low cell count milk stimulated growth of the streptococcus to the same degree as mastitic milk. However, addition of plasma or PMN from blood or from milk were less stimulatory. The part played by these components in providing casein breakdown products for the weakly proteolytic Str. thermophilus in mastitic milk is discussed.

Milk composition and yield were measured in the black Bedouin goat during 4 d of dehydration followed by 2 d of rehydration. During this time the goats were exposed to strong solar radiation with no access to shade; all of these conditions occur commonly in the desert. Milk yield, initially similar to that found in the desert, was maintained during the first 2 d of dehydration, fell to 35% of the initial value over the third and fourth days and recovered fully during 2 d of rehydration. As yield fell, milk osmolality, and milk fat and protein concentrations rose. During rehydration all 3 fell once more, but whereas osmolality finished below initial values the concentrations of fat and protein remained higher than before dehydration. The milk remained isosmolar with plasma throughout. Total yields of milk solids and milk water during the whole experimental period were 70 and 67% of normal respectively and normal growth of the young was not disturbed.

An attempt was made to partition changes in milk yield during lactation in the rat between changes in the size of the secretory cell population and changes in cellular activity. Groups of rats were studied on d 2, 7, 14, 21 and 28 of lactation. Milk yield increased between d 2 and 7, less markedly between d 7 and 14 and decreased between d 14 and 21. Milk secretion had apparently ceased on d 28. Total mammary DNA (DNAt) and RNA (RNAt) increased from d 2 to 14. It is concluded that of the increase in milk yield between d 2 and 14, an increase in cell population accounted for 75% and an increase in cellular activity for 25%. A decrease in activity appeared to be entirely responsible for the decrease in yield between d 14 and 21.

A survey was undertaken to update and extend available information on the vitamin content of pasteurized milk as produced at processing dairies in mainland UK and to investigate regional, seasonal and breed effects. The concentration of total retinol in milk from non-Channel Island (NCI) breeds averaged 61·9 βg/100g in summer and 41·2 βg/100g in winter. Concentrations of β-carotene were 31·5 and 10·5 βg/100g in summer and winter respectively. Concentrations of retinol in milk from Channel Island (CI) breeds were similar, but concentrations of β-carotene were on average 3 times higher. The concentration of vitamin D3 in milk from NCI breeds was 0·033 βg/100g in summer and 0·026 βg/100g in winter. There was no marked seasonal variation in the mean concentration of total vitamin C (14·5 βg/ml). Values for the concentration of B vitamins (βg/ml) were: folic acid 0·060, vitamin B12 0·0042, riboflavin 1·78, nicotinic acid 0·71, pantothenic acid 3·60, biotin 0·020, thiamin 0·46 and vitamin B6 0·61. Seasonal variation in the concentration was most marked for folic acid (c.v. 17·4%) and to a lesser extent for vitamin B12 (c.v. 10·3%). The only breed differences in the B vitamin content were for riboflavin and folic acid, the mean values obtained for milk from CI breeds being respectively 20 and 10 % higher than those from NCI breeds.

Concentrations were measured of different vitamins in milk as delivered to the home and after storage in the domestic refrigerator, during summer and winter periods. Vitamin C concentrations varied greatly, ranging from 0·1 to 18·4 εg/ml. Most of the lower vitamin C values were associated with known exposure of the milk to daylight and there was a clear tendency for the concentrations to fall with increased time of refrigerated storage especially when associated with prior exposure of the milk to daylight. Riboflavin values were mostly in the range 1·35–1·92εg/ml, but occasional lower values were associated with low content of vitamin C and in some instances with prolonged exposure to daylight on the doorstep. Concentrations of the other vitamins (εg/m1) were: folic acid 0·041–0·074, thiamin 0·38–0·48, vitamin B12 0·0032–0·0044 and vitamin B6 0·56–0·71. All fell within the normal ranges and were not significantly influenced by exposure of the milk to daylight or subsequent storage in the refrigerator.

Bacterial post pasteurization contamination with psychrotrophic Gram-negative rods (GNR) was measured in commercial milks before and after transfer to retail containers. The tanks of pasteurized milk feeding the filling units contaminated milk less often (39% of samples) but usually at a higher level than the filling units (92% of samples). The number of GNR present had a considerable influence on the shelf life of milk, and the range found in commercially pasteurized milk was reflected in a wide range of shelf lives.

The chemical composition and rennet coagulation properties at pH 6·4 of milks from 2 commercial herds of Friesian cows were monitored during the change from winter diet to spring grazing. There was considerable variation both in composition and in coagulation properties during this period. There were significant trends for increasing concentrations of casein, Na and lactose, and decreasing concentrations of fat, citrate, K and Mg following the change. Many correlations occurred between concentrations of components, some of which may have physiological significance. Coagulum strength increased after the change to spring grazing and was related to the concentrations of casein, citrate and some of the minerals. Syneresis time did not follow any trend during this period, but was significantly related to concentrations of fat, Na and K. Rennet clotting time did not follow a significant trend immediately after the dietary change, but tended to increase as the summer progressed; it was significantly related to concentrations of Ca, Pi Na and K, as well as to the original pH of the milk. When the concentration of lactose in milk was adjusted, variations in lactose concentration did not affect the coagulation properties of milk.

The mRNA coding for prochymosin (prorennin) has been partly purified from calf abomasum. The in vitro translation products of the total polyadenylated RNA show a major band on gel electrophoresis which reacts with antibody raised against purified chymosin. The mol. wt of 43000 is higher than expected from the reported amino acid sequence and would correspond to prochymosin with an unprocessed signal sequence of ∼ 17 amino acids. The synthesis of chymosin mRNA is age-related, and ceases by 3 months even in milk-fed calves.

A general theory of gel formation by cross-linking of polymer molecules, orginally developed for the study of rubber vulcanization, is proposed as a model for milk gel formation. The model divides gel formation and development into 4 stages, an enzymic and a non-enzymic stage preceding gelation, then a stage of material transition from the sol to the gelled state and a stage of increase in gel strength due to internal cross-link formations. The 2 post-gelation stages overlap to a variable degree depending upon particular circumstances. Gel formation and properties are interpreted in terms of the number of initial units which combine to form the gel and the number of cross-links eventually formed by each unit. When combined with a kinetic expression for the rate of cross-link formation the time course of gel shear modulus development or of the incorporation of material into the gel may be predicted. The classical asymmetric sigmoid shape of gel shear modulus development curves results from the third stage of material transition into the gel, which in turn depends upon the number of cross-links eventually formed by each initial unit. The modulus of mature gels is found to depend upon the square of material concentration, and gel breaking strength is found to be proportional to the modulus, in agreement with the predictions of the theory.

Hydration of Ca and Na caseinates which were prepared from whole casein at different pH levels (range 4·7–8·0) was determined by means of water vapour sorption measurements in the water activity (aw) range 0·58–0·95. Water uptake of Ca caseinates was systematically lower than that of Na caseinates prepared at equal pH, the differences increasing with increasing pH and aw. Plots of the water content ν. the amount of added hydroxide at constant aw revealed a linear relationship between water uptake and cation content, suggesting that the increase in water uptake is mainly determined by the amount and type of cations associated with the caseins. In the aw range tested, Ca2+ adsorbed about 2–7 and Na+ 3–18 mol water/mol of cation. This implies that replacement of one mol of casein-bound Na+ by Ca2+ is accompanied by a displacement of 1–11 mol water at aw 0·58–0·95. The loss of water is a consequence of conformational changes induced by the chelating and cross-linking effects of Ca2+, which also lead to micelle formation.

Bovine milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) material was isolated from cream by a new technique which did not involve removal of caseins and whey proteins before destabilization of the fat globules. These components were removed by centrifugation of the membrane material extract through a concentrated sucrose solution (52·5% (w/v) sucrose in 10 mM-Tris HCl buffer, pH 7·5). Membranes collected at the sample–sucrose interface, while whey proteins remained in the supernatant and caseins migrated into the concentrated sucrose solution. The yield of membrane material using this procedure was 25% less than that from conventional methods. This reduced yield was due mainly to lower levels of lipid material, in particular triglyceride. Electrophoretic analysis showed that the polypeptide composition of ‘unwashed’ membrane material was similar to that of conventionally prepared MFGM. This method is particularly suitable for the isolation of membrane material from milks and dairy products in which the fat globule stability is reduced or unknown.

A fluorimetric assay, developed for the assay in milk of the lipase of the raw milk psychrotroph Pseudomonas fluorescens AR11 (Stead, 1983), was evaluated in both buffer and in milk using cell-free lipase preparations from 11 strains of lipolytic psychrotrophic bacteria isolated from milk. Lipases of all strains were more active against 4-methylumbelliferyl nonanoate (4-MUN) than against 4-methylumbelliferyl oleate (4-MUO) in the buffer system but most were less active against 4-MUN than against 4-MUO in the milk assay system. In both systems, 4-MUO had a much lower rate of non-enzymic hydrolysis than did 4-MUN. Lipase activities measured by radial diffusion in tributyrin agar and trioctanoin agar reflected activities against 4-MUO and 4-MUN, except that lipase from a strain of coliform was relatively more reactive against the 4-MU esters. When compared with assay in the buffer system the most effectively activated lipase in the milk system was that from AR11; of those from other strains, 6 were 50–69% as effectively activated, 2 were about 17% and 2 were 7–8% activated. This difference in behaviour was related to the direct inhibition of lipases of some of the strains by the mixture of sodium taurocholate (NaTC) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) needed in the milk assay system to dissociate lipase from milk protein. Increasing the proportion of NaTC to CTAB increased the activities of the more weakly activated lipases but decreased those of others. The assay in milk may therefore underestimate the lipase from certain strains of psychrotrophic bacteria.

A micro scale syneresis assay, using the natural optical density of the whey released as a trace, is reported. This assay is suitable for use with raw, reconstituted skim-milk (RSM) or artificial milk. Using RSM the reproducibility and accuracy of the method compared favourably with larger scale laboratory assays. When the method was used to investigate the syneresis properties of artificial micelle milk (AMM), the rate and extent of syneresis and response to a major variable such as pH were very similar to those of RSM. This suggests that the assay used in conjunction with AMM is suitable for investigating the mechanism of syneresis at a molecular level.

Three microbial rennets, Noury rennet (Mucor pusillus, Lindt), Rennilase (M. miehei) and Suparen (Endothia parasitica), were assessed as calf rennet substitutes for Feta cheesemaking, in comparison with calf rennet. Cheeses prepared were all of good quality with similar organoleptic properties. Yield (referred to 55% moisture), moisture content, NaCl and protein content did not differ significantly. Different rates of proteolysis were observed in the cheeses, the highest of which was exhibited by calf rennet followed by Rennilase, Noury rennet and Suparen preparations. These calf rennet substitutes are well suited for Feta cheese manufacture.