Preliminary Results from a Study Evaluating the Test Characteristics of a Milk Urea Nitrogen Assay and the Influence of Factors Related to Sample Collection and Handling
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21423/aabppro19965978Keywords:
Milk Urea Nitrogen, nutritional management, test characteristics, sample typeAbstract
Measurement of urea levels in milk has been promoted as a potentially useful diagnostic aid in monitoring the nutritional management of dairy herds. However, considerable research is required in order to develop criteria to accurately interpret Milk Urea Nitrogen (MUN) measurements. As part of a larger research project designed to investigate the relationship of MUN measurements to nutritional management and reproductive performance in dairy herds, a series of preliminary experiments were performed. The objectives were to evaluate the test characteristics of the Fossomatic 4000 Milk Analyser MUN test and to investigate how various factors relating to the sample type, (composite vs stripping, use of Bronopol preservative and storage over time) may affect MUN measurements.