No effects of homeopathy on somatic cell count, bovine milk yield and composition

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a homeopathic complex, on the reduction of milk somatic cell count, production of milk, fat percentage and protein percentage of milk in lactating Holstein cows, over a period of three months. Twenty cows, in second parity, were randomly assigned in blocks with two treatments, after an initial period of adaptation in the experimental area for 15 days. The cows were distributed into a control group (that did not receive the homeopathic complex) and a treated (that received the homeopathic complex), evaluated for six test-day records. Laboratory analysis of fat and protein were made via the infrared absorption and somatic cell count by flow cytometry, wherein this latest has been transformed into logarithmic scale for statistical analysis. Analysis of variance to test the effects of treatment, test-day record and the interaction between these factors, was performed through repeated measures over time. For all traits, there was no significant interaction between treatment and test-day record (p > 0.05) and there was no statistical difference (p > 0.05) between the control and treated groups. The use of the homeopathic complex was not effective in reducing somatic cell count of dairy cows, for the trial period of three months. The use of homeopathy did not interfere significantly with milk yield or the protein percentage in Holstein cows.