Quality of protein in goat half-udder milk with varying somatic cell count levels

In order to study the effect of SCC on protein quality of goat's milk and its coagulation properties, milk samples from the half-udder of 31 dairy goats (SCC of at least one half-udder which exceeded 800,000 cells/ml) were analyzed for pH, soluble nitrogen content, casein content, proportions of the caseins, plasmin activity, proteose-peptone content, rennet coagulation time, rate of firming and maximal curd firmness of the gel. The ANOVA analysis showed a modification in protein composition, revealing that the proteose-peptone content and the plasmin activity significantly increase with SCC. Modifications in the quality parameters start at 800,000 cells/ml except for the rennet clotting time where variation begins after 1,500,000 cells/ml.