Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T09:51:02.709Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Hair cortisol detection in dairy cattle by using EIA: protocol validation and correlation with faecal cortisol metabolites

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 March 2015

O. Tallo-Parra ,
X. Manteca ,
M. Sabes-Alsina ,
A. Carbajal  and
M. Lopez-Bejar
O. Tallo-Parra*
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Food Science, Faculty of Veterinary, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici V, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain Department of Animal Health and Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici V, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
X. Manteca
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Food Science, Faculty of Veterinary, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici V, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
M. Sabes-Alsina
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Health and Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici V, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
A. Carbajal
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Health and Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici V, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
M. Lopez-Bejar*
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Health and Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici V, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
*
†E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
†E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Hair may be a useful matrix to detect cumulative cortisol concentrations in studies of animal welfare and chronic stress. The aim of this study was to validate a protocol for cortisol detection in hair from dairy cattle by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Seventeen adult Holstein–Friesian dairy cows were used during the milking period. Hair cortisol concentration was assessed in 25-day-old hair samples taken from the frontal region of the head, analysing black and white coloured hair separately. Concentrations of cortisol metabolites were determined in faeces collected twice a week during the same period of time. There was a high correlation between cortisol values in faeces and cortisol in white colour hair samples but such correlation was not significant with the black colour hair samples. The intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation were 4.9% and 10.6%, respectively. The linearity showed R2=0.98 and mean percentage error of −10.8±1.55%. The extraction efficiency was 89.0±23.52% and the parallelism test showed similar slopes. Cortisol detection in hair by using EIA seems to be a valid method to represent long-term circulating cortisol levels in dairy cattle.

Keywords

animal welfarecortisoldairy cattleEIAhair
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 9 , Issue 6 , June 2015 , pp. 1059 - 1064
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aardal, E and Holm, AC 1995. Cortisol in saliva – reference ranges and relation to cortisol in serum. European Journal of Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Biochemistry 33, 927–932.Google Scholar
Boumba, VA, Ziavrou, KS and Vougiouklakis, T 2006. Hair as a biological indicator of drug use, drug abuse or chronic exposure to environmental toxicants. International Journal of Toxicology 25, 143–163.Google Scholar
Bryan, HM, Adams, AG, Invik, RM, Wynne-Edwards, KE and Smits, JEG 2013. Hair as a meaningful measure of baseline cortisol levels over time in dogs. Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science 52, 189–196.Google Scholar
Buchanan, KL and Goldsmith, AR 2004. Noninvasive endocrine data for behavioural studies: the importance of validation. Animal Behaviour 67, 183–185.Google Scholar
Burnett, TA, Madureira, AML, Silper, BF, Nadalin, A, Tahmasbi, A, Veira, DM and Cerri, RLA 2014. Short communication: factors affecting hair cortisol concentrations in lactating dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 97, 1–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carlitz, EHD, Kirschbaum, C, Stalder, T and van Schaik, CP 2014. Hair as a long-term retrospective cortisol calendar in orang-utans (Pongo spp.): new perspectives for stress monitoring in captive management and conservation. General and Comparative Endocrinology 195, 151–156.Google Scholar
Cerri, RLA, Tabmasbi, AM and Veira, DM 2012. Hair cortisol concentrations – influence of color and location in Holstein cows. Journal of Dairy Science 95, S574.Google Scholar
Comin, A, Tidu, L, Cornacchia, G, Cappa, A, Renaville, B and Prandi, A 2008. Neonatal period and hair cortisol in cattle as a marker of stress. XVI Congress of the Mediterranean Federation for Health and Production of Ruminants (FeMeSPrum), 23 to 26 April, Zadar, Croatia, pp. 221–225.Google Scholar
Comin, A, Prandi, A, Peric, T, Corazzin, M, Dovier, S and Bovolenta, S 2011. Hair cortisol levels in dairy cows from winter housing to summer highland grazing. Livestock Science 138, 69–73.Google Scholar
Comin, A, Veronesi, MC, Montillo, M, Faustini, M, Valentini, S, Cairoli, F and Prandi, A 2012. Hair cortisol level as a retrospective marker of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activity in horse foals. The Veterinary Journal 194, 131–132.Google Scholar
Comin, A, Peric, T, Corazzin, M, Veronesi, MCC, Meloni, T, Zufferli, V, Cornacchia, G and Prandi, A 2013. Hair cortisol as a marker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation in Friesian dairy cows clinically or physiologically compromised. Livestock Science 152, 36–41.Google Scholar
Cone, EJ 1996. Mechanisms of drug incorporation into hair. Therapeutic Drug Monitoring 18, 438–443.Google Scholar
Davenport, MD, Tiefenbacher, S, Lutz, CK, Novak, MA and Meyer, JS 2006. Analysis of endogenous cortisol concentrations in the hair of rhesus macaques. General and Comparative Endocrinology 147, 255–261.Google Scholar
De Lima, V, Piles, M, Rafel, O, López-Béjar, M, Ramón, J, Velarde, A and Dalmau, A 2013. Use of infrared thermography to assess the influence of high environmental temperature on rabbits. Research in Veterinary Science 95, 802–810.Google Scholar
Dettmer, AM, Novak, MA, Suomi, SJ and Meyer, JS 2012. Physiological and behavioral adaptation to relocation stress in differentially reared rhesus monkeys: hair cortisol as a biomarker for anxiety-related responses. Psychoneuroendocrinology 37, 191–199.Google Scholar
Gatti, R, Antonelli, G, Prearo, M, Spinella, P, Cappellin, E and De Palo, EF 2009. Cortisol assays and diagnostic laboratory procedures in human biological fluids. Clinical Biochemistry 42, 1205–1217.Google Scholar
González-de-la-Vara, MRDR, Valdez, RA, Lemus-Ramirez, V, Vázquez-Chagoyán, JC, Villa-Godoy, A and Romano, MC 2011. Effects of adrenocorticotropic hormone challenge and age on hair cortisol concentrations in dairy cattle. Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research 75, 216–221.Google Scholar
Gow, R, Thomson, S, Rieder, M, Van Uum, S and Koren, G 2010. An assessment of cortisol analysis in hair and its clinical applications. Forensic Science International 196, 32–37.Google Scholar
Henderson, GLL 1993. Mechanisms of drug incorporation into hair. Forensic Science International 63, 19–29.Google Scholar
Hernandez, CE, Thierfelder, T, Svennersten-Sjaunja, K, Berg, C, Orihuela, A and Lidfors, L 2014. Time lag between peak concentrations of plasma and salivary cortisol following a stressful procedure in dairy cattle. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 56, 61–68.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ito, N, Ito, T, Kromminga, A, Bettermann, A, Takigawa, M, Kees, F, Straub, RH and Paus, R 2005. Human hair follicles display a functional equivalent of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and synthesize cortisol. FASEB Journal 19, 1332–1342.Google Scholar
Keckeis, K, Lepschy, M, Schöpper, H, Moser, L, Troxler, J and Palme, R 2012. Hair cortisol: a parameter of chronic stress? Insights from a radiometabolism study in guinea pigs. Journal of Comparative Physiology. B, Biochemical, Systemic, and Environmental Physiology 182, 985–996.Google Scholar
Koren, L, Mokady, O, Karaskov, T, Klein, J, Koren, G and Geffen, E 2002. A novel method using hair for determining hormonal levels in wildlife. Animal Behaviour 63, 403–406.Google Scholar
Macbeth, BJ, Cattet, MRL, Obbard, ME, Middel, K and Janz, DM 2012. Evaluation of hair cortisol concentration as a biomarker of long-term stress in free-ranging polar bears. Wildlife Society Bulletin 36, 747–758.Google Scholar
Meyer, JS and Novak, MA 2012. Minireview: hair cortisol: a novel biomarker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical activity. Endocrinology 153, 4120–4127.Google Scholar
Morrow, CJ, Kolver, ES, Verkerk, GA and Matthews, LR 2002. Fecal glucocorticoid metabolites as a measure of adrenal activity in dairy cattle. General and Comparative Endocrinology 126, 229–241.Google Scholar
Möstl, E and Palme, R 2002. Hormones as indicators of stress. Domestic Animal Endocrinology 23, 67–74.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Möstl, E, Messmann, S, Bagu, E, Robia, C and Palme, R 1999. Measurement of glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations in faeces of domestic livestock. Journal of Veterinary Medicine Series A 46, 621–631.Google Scholar
Möstl, E, Maggs, JL, Schro, G, Schrötter, G, Besenfelder, U and Palme, R 2002. Measurement of cortisol metabolites in faeces of ruminants. Veterinary Research Communications 26, 127–139.Google Scholar
Moya, D, Schwartzkopf-Genswein, KS and Veira, DM 2013. Standardization of a non-invasive methodology to measure cortisol in hair of beef cattle. Livestock Science 158, 138–144.Google Scholar
National Research Council (NRC) 2001. Nutrient requirements of dairy cattle. National Academy Press, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Negrão, JA, Porcionato, MA, de Passillé, AM and Rushen, J 2004. Cortisol in saliva and plasma of cattle after ACTH administration and milking. Journal of Dairy Science 87, 1713–1718.Google Scholar
Palme, R, Robia, C, Messmann, S, Hofer, J and Möstl, E 1999. Measurement of faecal cortisol metabolites in ruminants: a non-invasive parameter of adrenocortical function. Wiener Tierärztliche Monatsschrift – Veterinary Medicine Austria 86, 237–241.Google Scholar
Palme, R, Touma, C, Arias, N, Dominchin, MF and Lepschy, M 2013. Steroid extraction: get the best out of faecal samples. Wiener Tierärztliche Monatsschrift – Veterinary Medicine Austria 100, 238–246.Google Scholar
Peric, T, Comin, A, Corazzin, M, Montillo, M, Cappa, A, Campanile, G and Prandi, A 2013. Short communication: hair cortisol concentrations in Holstein-Friesian and crossbreed F1 heifers. Journal of Dairy Science 96, 3023–3027.Google Scholar
Pötsch, L, Skopp, G and Moeller, MR 1997. Influence of pigmentation on the codeine content of hair fibers in guinea pigs. Journal of Forensic Sciences 42, 1095–1098.Google Scholar
Pragst, F and Balikova, MA 2006. State of the art in hair analysis for detection of drug and alcohol abuse. Clinica Chimica Acta; International Journal of Clinical Chemistry 370, 17–49.Google Scholar
Probst, JK, Spengler Neff, A, Hillmann, E, Kreuzer, M, Koch-Mathis, M and Leiber, F 2014. Relationship between stress-related exsanguination blood variables, vocalisation, and stressors imposed on cattle between lairage and stunning box under conventional abattoir conditions. Livestock Science 164, 154–158.Google Scholar
Rigalma, K, Duvaux-Ponter, C, Barrier, A, Charles, C, Ponter, AA, Deschamps, F and Roussel, S 2010. Medium-term effects of repeated exposure to stray voltage on activity, stress physiology, and milk production and composition in dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 93, 3542–3552.Google Scholar
Russell, E, Koren, G, Rieder, M and Van Uum, S 2012. Hair cortisol as a biological marker of chronic stress: current status, future directions and unanswered questions. Psychoneuroendocrinology 37, 589–601.Google Scholar
Sabés-Alsina, M, Planell, N, Torres-Mejia, E, Taberner, E, Maya-Soriano, MJ, Tusell, L, Ramon, J, Dalmau, A, Piles, M and Lopez-Bejar, M 2015. Daily exposure to summer circadian cycles affects spermatogenesis, but not fertility in an in vivo rabbit model. Theriogenology 83, 246–252.Google Scholar
Sharpley, CF, McFarlane, JR and Slominski, A 2012. Stress-linked cortisol concentrations in hair: what we know and what we need to know. Reviews in the Neurosciences 23, 111–121.Google Scholar
Slominski, AT, Manna, PR and Tuckey, RC 2014. Cutaneous glucocorticosteroidogenesis: securing local homeostasis and the skin integrity. Experimental Dermatology 23, 369–374.Google Scholar
Slominski, A, Zbytek, B, Nikolakis, G, Manna, PR, Skobowiat, C, Zmijewski, M, Li, W, Janjetovic, Z, Postlethwaite, A, Zouboulis, CC and Tuckey, RC 2013. Steroidogenesis in the skin: implications for local immune functions. The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 137, 107–123.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stalder, T and Kirschbaum, C 2012. Analysis of cortisol in hair – state of the art and future directions. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 26, 1019–1029.Google Scholar
Tallo-Parra, O, Carbajal, A, Sabes-Alsina, M, Almagro, V, Fernandez-Bellon, H, Enseñat, C, Quevedo, MA, Manteca, X, Abaigar, T and Lopez-Bejar, M 2013. Preliminary results on hair cortisol detection as a tool to evaluate chronic stress in Sahrawi dorcas gazelle (Gazella dorcas neglecta). 9th International Conference on Behaviour, Physiology and Genetics of Wildlife, 18 to 21 September 2013, Berlin, Germany, 193pp.Google Scholar
Taves, MD, Gomez-Sanchez, CE and Soma, KK 2011. Extra-adrenal glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids: evidence for local synthesis, regulation, and function. American Journal of Physiology. Endocrinology and Metabolism 301, 11–24.Google Scholar
Thun, R, Eggenberger, E, Zerobin, K, Luscher, T and Vetter, W 1981. 24-hour secretory pattern of cortisol in the bull – evidence of episodic secretion and circadian-rhythm. Endocrinology 109, 2208–2212.Google Scholar
Touma, C and Palme, R 2005. Measuring fecal glucocorticoid metabolites in mammals and birds: the importance of validation. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1046, 54–74.Google Scholar
Van Uum, SHM, Sauvé, B, Fraser, LA, Morley-Forster, P, Paul, TL and Koren, G 2008. Elevated content of cortisol in hair of patients with severe chronic pain: a novel biomarker for stress. Stress 11, 483–488.Google Scholar
Von Keyserlingk, MAG, Rushen, J, de Passillé, AM and Weary, DM 2009. The welfare of dairy cattle – key concepts and the role of science. Journal of Dairy Science 92, 4101–4111.Google Scholar