1. Small Ruminant Research 67 (2007) 235–242
Residues in milk and production performance of goats following
the intake of a pesticide (endosulfan)
Subir K. Nag∗, S.K. Mahanta, Mukesh K. Raikwar, B.K. Bhadoria
Plant Animal Relationship Division, Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi 284003, Uttar Pradesh, India
Received 16 September 2004; received in revised form 11 October 2005; accepted 11 October 2005
Available online 29 November 2005
Abstract
A trial was conducted on 12 lactating Barberi milch goats (body weight 18.1 ± 0.9 kg, 2nd to 3rd parity, mid lactation), divided
into three groups (G1, G2 and G3) of four animals each, in which endosulfan, an organochlorinated insecticide, was administered
via the diet in two doses, i.e. 15 mg/goat/day in the G2 and 30 mg/goat/day in the G3 groups for 25 consecutive days. The G1 group
served as a control. Endosulfan residues comprising of ␣, ␤ isomers and endosulfan sulfate were present in milk samples, but the
transfer coefficient, i.e. the percentage of daily intake of a pesticide excreted into the milk each day, was very low (0.23–0.33%). The
residue concentration gradually increased during the administration period and reached a peak on day 25, the last day of treatment.
Thereafter, the residues started to decline and reached approximately basis levels within 20 days after cessation of treatment. The
kinetics of the decline phase followed the first-order kinetics and the statistical half-life was almost the same in both the treatment
groups (8.67 and 8.88 days for G2 and G3, respectively). There were no perceptible changes in the utilization of nutrients, feed
intake, milk yield and milk composition, and blood metabolites in the treated group of animals following ingestion of the pesticide.
There was thus apparently no adverse effect on the performance of the animals following the intake of the pesticide, but research
needs to be done on the long-term exposure to the pesticide in low doses.
© 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Endosulfan; Goat; Milk; Nutrient utilization; Blood biochemical constituents
1. Introduction
Feed and fodder offered to animals are often contam-
inated with pesticide residues (Sandhu, 1980; Raikwar
and Nag, 2003) and after feeding, these residues pass
through the body systems (Prassad and Chhabra, 2001).
Pesticides are toxic xenobiotics, which can adversely
affect the biological systems in a number of ways.
After entry in the animal body, residues are distributed
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 517 2730446/2730908;
fax: +91 517 2730833.
E-mail addresses: nagsk 67@rediffmail.com,
subirknag@yahoo.com (S.K. Nag).
to different organs, tissues and also translocated to
milk in the case of milch goats. Some residues may
also be excreted via the urine and faeces (Juliet et al.,
1998). The continuous intake of pesticide residues in
ruminants is a particularly serious problem in the case
of the organochlorines, which are highly liposoluble
and deposited in adipose tissues, body fats and remain
in situ for a long time. Contamination of milk in both
animals and humans by DDT [1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-
bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane], hexachloro cyclohexane
(HCH, commonly known as BHC), aldrin, dieldrin and
heptachlor has been reported by researchers in different
countries over the last few decades, and the use of
most of these chemicals have been banned in certain
0921-4488/$ – see front matter © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.smallrumres.2005.10.008

2. 236 S.K. Nag et al. / Small Ruminant Research 67 (2007) 235–242
countries (Williams and Mills, 1964; Kapoor and Kalra,
1988, 1997; Singhal and Mudgal, 1990; Surendra Nath
et al., 1998). In India, there is for example a total ban
on the use of HCH, aldrin, dieldrin and heptachlor, and
permission has been given for the restricted use only
of DDT in public hygiene programmes and for lindane
(␥-HCH) to be used on field crops. However, endosulfan
(6,7,8,9,10,10-hexachloro-1,5,5a,6,9,9a-hexahydro-6,
9-methano-2,4,3-benzodioxathie pine-3-oxide), a mem-
ber of cyclodiene group of organochlorinated insecti-
cides, is generally used in agriculture for the control
of various pests in crops in India—as a result, it has
been reported to be present as residues in different feed
concentrates and green fodders up to a concentration of
6 ppm (Dikshit et al., 1989; Prassad, 1998; Kang et al.,
2002; Imrankhan et al., 2003; Deka et al., 2004). It was
however reported that unlike the other organochlori-
nated insecticides, endosulfan apparently does not pass
into the milk of cattle when ingested in feed—even at
a high concentration for a prolonged period of time
(Surendra Nath et al., 2000). However, Indraningsih
et al. (1993) administered endosulfan to goats at a
rate of 1 mg/kg body weight for 28 days and detected
residues in milk for the first day samples only. Feeding
experiments with endosulfan to record its effect on feed
intake and the utilisation of nutrients in large and small
ruminants is very sparse. With this background, the
present experiment was designed to determine whether
endosulfan contamination could be transferred to the
milk of goats when fed material contaminated with the
pesticide. A metabolic trial was also conducted during
the pesticide administration period to observe the effect
of endosulfan ingestion on feed intake and nutrient
utilization, milk yield, milk quality and certain blood
biochemical parameters.
2. Materials and methods
The experiment was conducted at the Animal Com-
plex of the Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Insti-
tute, Jhansi. Twelve Barberi milch goats (18.1 ± 0.9 kg
body weight, 2nd to 3rd parity, mid lactation) were
divided into three treatment groups (G1, G2 and G3)
of four does each, fed a mixed diet of concentrate
and oat hay. Endosulfan, an organochlorine insecticide
of the cyclodiene group, was daily mixed with the
feed and fed to the goats according to the following
schedule:
Group G1 = Control with no endosulfan fed to the goats
Group G2 = endosulfan fed at a dose of 15 mg/goat/day
for 25 consecutive days
Group G3 = endosulfan fed at a dose of 30 mg/goat/day
for 25 consecutive days
Pure analytical grade endosulfan containing the two
stereo isomers (␣ and ␤) was used for supplementation
and treatment solutions of the desired concentration of
the pesticide compound was prepared in acetone and the
appropriate volume mixed with a small amount of feed
concentrate samples, as per the treatment. The solvent
was allowed to evaporate off, where after it was offered
to the animals for ingestion.
The does were offered a mixed concentrate diet
(Table 1) containing crushed maize, groundnut cake,
wheat bran, mineral mixture, common salt—in a ratio of
40:35:22:2:1 ratio) at 2% of body weight and oat hay ad
libitum to meet their nutritional and production require-
ments.Thedoeswereweighedfortnightlybeforefeeding
and watering in the morning, and the quantity of concen-
trate adjusted fortnightly according to the change in body
weight. In addition, clean drinking water was also pro-
vided to each goat twice daily. Daily milk yield from
each animal was recorded throughout the experimental
period.
Milk samples were collected in the morning (7:00)
fromalldoesat0,2,5,10,15,20and25daysoftreatment
and 5, 10, 15 and 20 days after treatment and anal-
ysed for composition. Ten milliliters of a randomized
whole milk sample was homogenised in a mixer-blender
with mixture of 50 ml hexane and acetone (1:1, v/v) for
2 min. The homogenate was then transferred to a tube
and centrifuged for 10 min at 2000 rpm. The upper hex-
ane layer was aspirated and passed through a column
of anhydrous sodium sulphate into a 500 ml round bot-
tom flask. The lower layer was re-extracted twice with
2 ml × 50 ml parts of hexane. The hexane layer was again
collected and passed through anhydrous sodium sulphate
into the same round bottom flask. The combined hexane
extract was concentrated in a rotary vacuum evaporator
Table 1
Chemical composition (% DM basis) of experimental diet fed to milch
goats
Parameters Concentrate
mixture (g/100 g)
Oat hay
(g/100 g)
Organic matter (OM) 88.17 91.73
Crude protein (CP) 21.44 8.22
Ether extract (EE) 2.34 0.94
Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) 30.14 71.10
Acid detergent fiber (ADF) 15.71 48.38
Cellulose 8.63 39.11
Total ash 11.83 8.27

3. S.K. Nag et al. / Small Ruminant Research 67 (2007) 235–242 237
and subjected to column chromatography (Suzuki et al.,
1979; Kapoor et al., 1981).
A mini column (300 mm × 15 mm i.d.) was prepared
with 2.5 g, 60–100 mesh pre-activated florisil (magne-
sium silicate) overlaid with a cotton plug and 2 g pre-
activated anhydrous sodium sulphate in hexane. The
concentrated hexane layer was passed through the col-
umn and eluted with 50 ml solvent, comprised of ethyl
acetate–benzene–hexane (1:19:180, v/v). The eluate was
concentrated in a rotary vacuum evaporator, the volume
made up to the desired volume in hexane and subjected
to gas chromatographic analysis.
The quantitative analysis was performed in a Var-
ian 3800 gas chromatograph fitted with electron cap-
ture detector (Ni63) and CP Sil 5 CB capillary column
(30 m × 0.32 mm × 0.25 ␮m film thickness) with fol-
lowing operating conditions:
Column temperature −180 ◦C for 1 min, then @
20 ◦C/min to 240 ◦C for 10 min injector temperature
−250 ◦C, detector temperature −300 ◦C.
Carrier gas—nitrogen with flow of 1 ml/min through
column and 30 ml/min backup.
The retention time of the peaks were ␣-endosulfan:
8.54 min, ␤-endosulfan: 9.60 min and endosulfan sul-
fate: 10.58 min.
Towards the end of treatment, a metabolic trial was
conducted for 6 days following standard procedures for
collection and aliquoting of the representative samples
of feeds offered, feed residues, faeces and urine collected
(Schneider and Flatt, 1975). Representative samples of
milk and blood were also collected daily from individual
goats in the morning (7:00) before feeding and watering.
Representative samples of feeds offered, residues and
excreta (faeces/urine) were analysed for proximate prin-
ciples, like moisture/dry matter, crude protein, ether
extract and ash content (AOAC, 1990) and cell wall frac-
tions (Goering and Van Soest, 1970). Milk samples were
analysedfortotalsolids,milkprotein,fatcontent(Garber
method) and ash content (AOAC, 1990). Blood samples,
collected via jugular vein puncture from the experimen-
talgoatsinto sterilized glasstubescontainingsodiumflu-
oride (5 mg/ml) and heparin (0.2 mg/ml), were analysed
for blood glucose (Cooper and Mc.Daniel, 1970), pro-
tein (Biuret method; Reinhold, 1953) and urea–nitrogen
(Rahmatullah and Boyde, 1980).
All the data pertaining to nutrient intake, digestibility.
N-balance, milk yield, milk composition and blood bio-
chemical constituents were subjected to statistical analy-
sis of variance in a one-way classification for treatments
using a completely randomized design, as described by
Snedecor and Cochran (1989). The test of significance
among the treatment differences was also analysed using
the t-test.
3. Results and discussion
Technical grade endosulfan is a mixture of two
stereoisomers, namely ␣ and ␤, which occur in the ratio
of2:1.Inthistrial,residuesofendosulfanwereexpressed
as total endosulfan comprising of both these two iso-
mers and one of its most common and toxic metabolites,
i.e. endosulfan sulfate. The feed offered to the control
animals was generally contaminated with endosulfan,
which was unavoidable, and this caused a basis residue
level in the milk. The mean basis residue level in control
animals was 0.065 mg/kg and this value was deducted
when calculating the net residues levels of endosulfan in
the milk of the treated animals (except in the day 0 sam-
ples which was recorded uncorrected). The excretion of
endosulfan residues in milk were calculated on a whole
milk basis and are set out in Table 2.
The initial residues in the milk, i.e. residues in the
sample on day 0, which was collected just prior to the
onset of the experimental treatment of endosulfan, was
0.062 and 0.065 mg/kg for the G2 and G3 groups, respec-
tively. This was taken as the background or basis residue
level. However, the concentration of the endosulfan in
milk samples slowly increased during the feeding (treat-
ment) period in both the G2 and G3 groups, up to day
25, which indicated that endosulfan passes readily from
the feed to the milk. Samples collected at the 25th day
of treatment (which was the last day of feeding of endo-
sulfan) recorded the presence of 0.194 mg/kg endosulfan
in the G2 and 0.282 mg/kg in the G3 group. Following
Table 2
The mean (±S.D.) excretion of endosulfan residues (mg/kg) in milch
goats following endosulfan treatment
Days G1 (control) G2 (15 mg)a G3 (30 mg)a
During treatment
0 0.052 ± 0.007 0.062 ± 0.015 0.065 ± 0.025
2 0.074 ± 0.004 0.079 ± 0.015 0.096 ± 0.017
5 0.024 ± 0.006 0.096 ± 0.022 0.138 ± 0.029
10 0.062 ± 0.006 0.128 ± 0.01 0.167 ± 0.032
15 0.059 ± 0.01 0.166 ± 0.032 0.210 ± 0.033
20 0.117 ± 0.012 0.171 ± 0.036 0.239 ± 0.076
25 0.046 ± 0.005 0.194 ± 0.037 0.282 ± 0.046
After treatment
5 0.103 ± 0.005 0.164 ± 0.031 0.223 ± 0.049
10 0.089 ± 0.006 0.104 ± 0.029 0.158 ± 0.080
15 0.044 ± 0.007 0.079 ± 0.02 0.096 ± 0.041
20 0.045 ± 0.006 0.038 ± 0.02 0.061 ± 0.028
a Background corrected except day 0 samples.

4. 238 S.K. Nag et al. / Small Ruminant Research 67 (2007) 235–242
Fig. 1. Excretion of endosulfan residues via milk in goats treated with endosulfan.
the cessation of feeding endosulfan, the concentration
began to decrease (Fig. 1). On day 5 after cessation
of treatment, 0.164 mg/kg endosulfan was recorded in
the group G2, and for the G3 group the correspond-
ing value was 0.223 mg/kg. A further steady decline in
concentration was observed in subsequent milk samples
collected on the 10th, 15th and 20th day following termi-
nation of treatment. On day 20 sample, the residue level
was 0.038 mg/kg and 0.061 mg/kg in G2 and G3 groups,
respectively.
Endosulfan residues could not be detected in the
milk of cattle, even when fed for 4 weeks at a level
of 50 mg/day (Surendra Nath et al., 2000). Only traces
of endosulfan sulfate was found in the milk samples 1
week after the commencement of the feeding trial. How-
ever, the presence of endosulfan residues in both bovine
and human milk have been reported by other workers.
Kathpal et al. (2001) reported 15 out of 100 bovine milk
samples collected from different places in India to con-
tain endosulfan residues above the maximum residue
limit (MRL). Nag and Raikwar (2003) also reported that
of 83 bovine milk samples collected from places in the
Bundelkhand region of India, 26 were found to be con-
taminated with endosulfan. In the current experiment, it
was observed that the endosulfan isomers ␣ and ␤, and
the toxic metabolite endosulfan sulfate could be detected
in most of the samples, even 20 days after termination
of treatment.
Three separate peaks of ␣, ␤ isomers and endosulfan
sulfate appeared on the chromatogram of the GLC. The
fraction of total endosulfan fed, which passed on to the
milk was quite low, unlike the case of DDT and HCH
(Kalra and Chawla, 1985). In the trial, the average DMI
was 582 g/head/day for the does of the treatment dose
of 15 mg/head/day endosulfan in the group G2 which
realised an intake of approximately 26 mg endosulfan/kg
of DM daily during the dosing period. The excretion
of total endosulfan residues in milk ranged between
0.062 mg/kg on day 0 and a maximum of 0.194 mg/kg on
day25duringfeedinginthegroupG2.Thus,foranintake
of26 mgendosulfan/kgDM/dayfor25consecutivedays,
only a small fraction (0.062–0.194 mg/kg) was excreted
via the milk during the treatment period. Some of the
residue may have been deposited in the tissues/organs,
and some excreted via the urine and faeces. When endo-
sulfan was fed at a rate of 1 mg/kg body weight per day
for 28 days to lactating goats, the residues (␣, ␤ isomers
and endosulfan sulfate) were detected mainly in the kid-
neys, GIT, liver, brain, muscle and spleen (Indraningsih
et al., 1993).
The average milk yield per day in the G2 group was
383 g and 396 g in the G3 group. The average con-
centration of endosulfan in the milk during the dos-
ing period was 0.128 mg/kg in the G2 group compared
to 0.171 mg/kg in the G3 group. Thus, the average
excretion of endosulfan was 0.049 mg/day in the G2

5. S.K. Nag et al. / Small Ruminant Research 67 (2007) 235–242 239
Fig. 2. Regression for decline in excretion of endosulfan in the milk of goats following treatment period.
and 0.068 mg/day in the G3 group. The transfer coeffi-
cient, which can be defined as the percentage of daily
intake of pesticide excreted into the milk each day,
was approximately 0.049/15 × 100 = 0.33% for G2 and
0.068/30 × 100 = 0.23% for G3. When the maximum
concentration of endosulfan in the milk during the treat-
ment period, i.e. 0.194 mg/kg and 0.282 mg/kg for the G2
and G3 groups, respectively, is taken into account, then
the transfer coefficient was 0.49% and 0.37% for G2 and
G3, respectively. This transfer coefficient of endosulfan
in goat milk was generally very low, when compared
to the transfer coefficient of ␣-HCH (12–15%), ␤-HCH
(31–36%), ␥-HCH (2.7%) and ␦-HCH (8.5%) (Kapoor
and Kalra, 1997).
The general mathematical model for pesticide clear-
ance is a first-order rate equation, i.e. the rate of trans-
formation or degradation of the pesticide is directly
proportional to its concentration (Gunther and Blinn,
1955), which can be expressed by the differential equa-
tion da/dt = −kA, where A is concentration of the pes-
ticide at any time t and K is the reaction rate constant.
Uponintegration,theequationbecomeslog(A/A0) = −kt,
A0 being the initial concentration. The residual half-life
(t1/2), i.e. time taken for the initial residues to degrade
to half its initial value can be derived from the equa-
tion by replacing A0/2 for A. The half-life thus becomes
t1/2 = log 2/k. The regression analysis for the decline of
endosulfan residues in the milk after cessation of treat-
ment was performed with the aid of a semi-logarithmic
graph, obtained by plotting days (considering last day
of experimental feeding of endosulfan, i.e. 25th day as
day 0 and the corresponding residue level as the initial
value), along the X-axis and the log of the residues along
the Y-axis (Fig. 2). The dissipation of the residues was
found to follow the first-order kinetics with high values
of R2 (coefficient of determination). The statistical half-
life of the declining phase was 8.67 days and 8.88 days
in the G2 and G3 groups, respectively. Thus, the rate of
decline was similar in both groups.
The concentrate mixture contained 21.4% CP and
30.1% NDF which provided the required nutrients for
milch goats (Table 1). Oat hay contained 8.2% CP and
71.1% NDF, reflecting it as a medium quality forage.
All the values were within the normal range as reported
earlier in hay of different cultivars (Multani and Gupta,
1986; Pachauri et al., 1998).
The average daily dry matter intake (DMI) was 527,
582 and 526 g for the G1, G2 and G3 groups, respectively,
with the differences not being significant (Table 3). Sim-
ilarly, DMI expressed as kg/100 kg body weight, as well
as g/kg w0.75 was similar between groups. A similar aver-
age DMI (2.79–3.24 kg/100 kg body weight) was also
recorded in milch goats fed green berseem ad libitum
and concentrate (Jash et al., 2001). The daily intake (g/kg
w0.75) of CP and TDN were comparable between groups,
ranging between 8.71–9.20 g and 40.95–46.55 g, respec-
tively. This demonstrated that treated animals were
maintained on isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets. The

6. 240 S.K. Nag et al. / Small Ruminant Research 67 (2007) 235–242
Table 3
The mean (±S.E.) intake and utilization of nutrients in experimental goats following endosulfan treatment (mg/day)
Attributes Treatment
G1 (control) G2 (15 mg) G3 (30 mg)
Nutrient intakeNS
DMI
g day−1 527 ± 38.7 582 ± 73.4 526 ± 29.6
kg/100 kg bw 3.0 ± 0.2 3.1 ± 0.2 2.9 ± 0.1
g/kg w0.75 61.0 ± 4.2 65.6 ± 4.8 59.8 ± 1.5
CPI
g day−1 75.4 ± 4.7 82.0 ± 11.0 81.2 ± 6.5
g/kg w0.75 8.7 ± 0.5 9.2 ± 0.6 9.2 ± 0.2
DCPI
g day−1 56.4 ± 4.9 62.1 ± 9.1 60.5 ± 5.5
g/kg w0.75 6.5 ± 0.5 6.9 ± 0.5 6.8 ± 0.2
TDNI
g day−1 385 ± 34.6 414 ± 52.5 361 ± 22.3
g/kg w0.75 44.5 ± 3.8 46.5 ± 3.1 40.9 ± 1.4
Nutrient digestibility (%)NS
DM 73.2 ± 2.0 73.6 ± 2.3 69.6 ± 1.4
OM 77.2 ± 1.6 76.3 ± 1.9 72.9 ± 1.1
EE 70.4 ± 1.3 72.1 ± 3.0 72.2 ± 2.3
CP 74.4 ± 2.1 75.2 ± 2.3 74.2 ± 1.0
NDF 68.3 ± 3.2 68.5 ± 2.2 63.5 ± 1.4
ADF 65.1 ± 2.8 66.0 ± 2.5 59.8 ± 1.2
Cellulose 74.1 ± 2.6 75.8 ± 1.4 69.5 ± 0.9
Nitrogen balance (g day−1)NS
N intake (NI) 12.1 ± 0.9 13.1 ± 2.0 13.0 ± 1.2
Faecal-N 3.0 ± 0.2 3.2 ± 0.4 3.3 ± 0.2
Urinary-N 5.6 ± 0.7 6.3 ± 1.3 6.0 ± 0.7
Milk-N 2.5 ± 0.1 2.7 ± 0.4 2.7 ± 0.3
Retained-N 1.0 ± 0.1 1.0 ± 0.1 0.9 ± 0.1
Retained-N as % of NI 8.0 ± 0.4 7.9 ± 0.4 7.3 ± 0.3
NS: no significant differences.
percentage digestibility of DM, OM, CP, EE, NDF, ADF
and cellulose was similar between treatment groups,
and generally the digestibility was high (>59%), includ-
ing the ADF fraction in all the groups. Similarly, the
digestibility of various nutrients was found high in milch
goats fed a diet comprised of a concentrate mixture and
forage (Singh and Mudgal, 1991).
All the animals were in a positive N balance and
retained 0.97, 1.02, 0.94 g N daily in the G1, G2 and
G3 groups, respectively—which was 7–8% of the N-
intake. Similarly, N retention (6–7% of N intake) was
also reported in milch goats (Singh and Mudgal, 1991).
This comparable N retention between the groups was due
to the similar N intake, as well as excretion via the faeces,
urine and milk of the experimental does. Thus, feeding
of endosulfan of up to 30 mg/goat/day for 25 consecu-
tive days did not have any adverse effect on feed intake
and nutrient utilization as such in the milch goats. Con-
trary, oral supplementation of pesticides like cyperme-
thrin (1.6 mg/kg live weight) and dimethoate (1 mg/kg
live weight) in animals reduced DMI, digestibility of
DM,OMandCP,Nutilization,aswellasfeedconversion
efficiency (Haque, 2002). Hence, the effect of pesticides
on feed intake and utilization of nutrients are variable,
depending on the type and dosage of the pesticide, the
species, and their physiological stages of maturity, mode
and duration of supplementation, nutritional status of the
animals, etc. (Girdhar and Singhal, 1989; Singhal and
Mudgal, 1990; Haque, 2002).
The dietary treatments had no effect on the bio-
chemical blood constituents (Table 4). Blood glucose,
plasma protein and urea nitrogen levels were comparable
between the different groups—ranging between 47.5 and
49.6 mg, 7.2 and 7.5 g, and 15.5 and 16.1 mg/dl, respec-
tively. On the contrary, bucks fed concentrates and green
berseem fodder with lindane (an organochlorinated

7. S.K. Nag et al. / Small Ruminant Research 67 (2007) 235–242 241
Table 4
The mean (±S.E.) milk yield and its composition, blood biochemical constituents in experimental goats treated with endosulfan for 25 days
Attributes Treatment
G1 (control) G2 (15 mg) G3 (30 mg)
Milk yield and its compositionNS
Yields (g day−1) 373 ± 52.2 383 ± 37.0 396 ± 27.0
Total solids (%) 14.6 ± 0.3 14.9 ± 0.3 14.9 ± 0.1
Fat (%) 5.3 ± 0.3 5.3 ± 0.2 5.5 ± 0.3
Protein (%) 4.2 ± 0.2 4.4 ± 0.3 4.4 ± 0.2
Ash (%) 0.9 ± 0.05 0.9 ± 0.04 0.91 ± 0.04
Blood biochemical constituentsNS
Glucose (mg day−1) 48.5 ± 1.6 49.6 ± 2.2 47.5 ± 2.2
Protein (g day−1) 7.3 ± 0.4 7.4 ± 0.4 7.5 ± 0.4
Urea-N (mg day−1) 16.1 ± 1.1 15.9 ± 0.6 15.5 ± 0.7
NS: no significant differences.
insecticide) up to a dose of 0.50 mg/kg DMI/day for
30 consecutive days showed a decrease in packed cell
volume (PCV), hyperglycaemia and higher activitites of
serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) and
serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) enzymes.
Haemoglobin and blood urea nitrogen levels remained
unaffected (Girdhar and Singhal, 1989). Thus, the effects
of organochlorine pesticides on blood biochemical con-
stituents were variable. Again in the present study, the
experimental does were fed optimally as the CP and
TDN intakes were higher than the recommended lev-
els of the ICAR (1985). In such a body condition, goats
did not show any negative effects, as adverse or toxic
effects with organochlorine pesticides mainly occur fol-
lowing malnutrition (Singhal and Mudgal, 1990). How-
ever, year old female Black Bengal goats fed a mixed diet
of concentrate and forage, along with endosulfan (up to
37.5 mg/head/day) for 90 days, showed enzyme secre-
tion inhibitory effects associated with lipid metabolism
and also cholinesterase (Bose et al., 1996).
The variation in the milk yield per day and its chem-
ical composition was also not significant between the
treatment groups (Table 3). The milk yield per day was
generally low as the animals were in their last phase of
mid lactation. Milk with similar composition has been
reported earlier in milch goats (Baghel and Gupta, 1979;
Jash et al., 2001).
4. Conclusion
Endosulfan present in feed in sufficiently high levels
can pass to the milk to a certain degree. Excretion of
endosulfan residues in goat milk increased as the treat-
ment period increased. After cessation of treatment, the
concentration of residues declined and reached the basis
levels within 20 days. The rate of decline was similar in
both the G2 and G3 treatment groups. There was no per-
ceptiblechangeintheutilizationofnutrients,feedintake,
milk yield, and its composition and blood metabolites as
a result of feeding the pesticide to the goats. The pesti-
cide may have some effect on the animals after exposure
for a long period of time, but this has to be further inves-
tigated.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the Head, PAR Division,
and the Director, Indian Grassland and Fodder Research
Institute, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India, for providing the
necessary facilities.
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