Blood mineral profile of French Alpine goats during the first third of the lactation period

Abstract. The research objective of this study was to determine the blood mineral profile of French Alpine goats during the first third of the lactation period. The blood mineral profile refers to concentrations of macro-elements and micro-elements. The research was carried out on 20 5-year-old goats in their fourth lactation. Goats were fed forage feed (1.5 kg d−1). Alfalfa hay and water were available ad libitum during the experimental period. Concentrations of micro-elements in the blood and feed of French Alpine goats were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). A comparison of measured average concentrations of macro-elements with the reference range for goats confirmed lower concentrations of K and Zn and higher concentrations of P, while concentrations of Na, Mn, and Se in this research were at the upper limit of the reference range. Such results can be explained by both the availability of the respective minerals in the goats' feed and the various reference ranges applied in the determination of the mineral profile of goats' blood, along with different laboratory methods used for blood mineral profiling. When analysing the time of sampling, the first third of the lactation period exhibited significantly lower concentrations of P, Mg, K, Fe, Zn, Mo, and Co in the goats' blood sampled in the period from the 30th day to the 90th day of lactation. Concentrations of Ca, Na, Cu, Mn, and Se in the goats' blood did not depend significantly on the time of sampling, although these were lower on the 90th day than on the 30th day of sampling. Significantly positive correlations were determined between the following mineral concentrations: Ca:Mg, Ca:K, Ca:Na, Ca:P, Ca:Zn, Ca:Se, Mg:K, Mg:Na, Mg:Cu, Mg:Fe, Mg:Zn, Mg:P, Mg:Mo, K:Na, K:Cu, K:Zn, K:P, K:Se, Na:Cu, Na:Zn, Na:P, Na:Se, Cu:P, Fe:Zn, Fe:Mn, Zn:P, and P:Se. The analysis of the measured concentrations of blood minerals and of correlations between them can be useful in the determination of the animals' health statuses during the first third of the lactation period; as such, this information indicates the need for feed supplementation or for the revision of the blood test reference range for specific goat breeds.