CONCENTRATIONS OF INORGANIC ELEMENTS IN MILK OF SOWS SELECTED FOR HIGH AND LOW SERUM-CHOLESTEROL

Comprehensive information on the composition of the whole spectrum of essential inorganic elements in sow milk is very limited. The objectiv es of this study were to measure concentrations of major and trace min eral elements in milk of third-generation sows selected for high(H) or low(L) serum cholesterol concentrations at 8 wk of age and to determi ne correlations between concentrations of milk cholesterol and major a nd trace mineral elements in sow milk. Twenty-one H and 21 L and 8 con temporary unselected control (U) Chester White x Landrace x Large Whit e x Yorkshire crossbred sows were milked on d 20 or 21 of their first lactation. A standard corn and soybean meal-based diet was fed to all sows during pregnancy and lactation. There were no differences among t he sow groups in milk concentrations of Ca, K, Mg, Na, and P, indicati ng that the genetic selection for serum cholesterol did not affect maj or mineral contents of the milk. Concentration of S in milk of the H s ows was significantly (P <.05) higher than that of the U sows. Effects of genetic group were significant for concentrations of B, Al, Cu, an d Mn in the milk, but not for Mo and Zn concentrations. Milk cholester ol concentration was negatively correlated with milk Al (P <.05), B (P < .01), and Mn (P <.05) for pooled data; there was no relationship be tween milk cholesterol concentration and that of other mineral element s.