Factors affecting growth factor activity in goat milk.

Growth factors that are present in goat milk may be responsible for its beneficial effects on the digestive system as described in ancient Chinese medical texts. To develop a nutraceutical product rich in growth factors for promoting gastrointestinal health, it is essential to collect milk with consistently high growth factor activity. Therefore, we investigated the factors affecting growth factor activity in goat milk. Among the 5 breeds of dairy goats tested, milk from Nubian goats had the highest growth factor activity. Tight-junction leakage induced by a 24-h milking interval did not increase growth factor activity in the milk. Milk collected from pregnant does had a significantly higher growth factor activity than milk collected postpartum. Growth factor activity decreased during the first 8 wk of lactation, fluctuated thereafter, and then increased dramatically after natural mating. During wk 1 to 8, growth factor activity was inversely correlated with milk yield and week of lactation. No correlation was observed during wk 9 to 29. After natural mating of the goats, the growth factor activity in the milk correlated significantly with somatic cell count and conductivity (a measure of membrane permeability), and correlated inversely with milk yield. Based on the above data, goat milk with higher growth factor activity could be selectively collected from Nubian pregnant does.