Milk Iodine as Influenced by an Iodophor Teat Dip 1,2

L. M. C O N R A D , ill, and R. W. H E M K E N Department of Animal Sciences University of Kentucky Lexington 40506 ABSTRACT

We quantitated the increase of iodine in milk from iodophor teat dips and determined the mode by which that iodine entered the milk. In one trial with teat dipping for 1 wk, iodine in milk increased 8.8 ug/100 ml. In another trial, only right udder halves were dipped with the iodophor. Samples of milk from the left udder half increased in iodine corresponding to the right udder half only slightly less. Tincture of iodine was applied to the skin between the vulva and the point of udder attachment of cows. Samples of milk from the group with tincture increased markedly in iodine content over the control group. Iodophor teat dips increased the iodine in milk by 8 to 10 ug/100 ml. The primary mode of increased iodine appears to be absorption through the skin and entry into the milk by the milk synthesis process rather than by contamination from the tear's surface.
INTRODUCTION

ting large amounts of iodine in seaweed kelp (2). Also, babies born to asthmatic mothers using iodide expectorants over prolonged time have enlarged thyroids (13). Begg and Hall (3), Wolff (18), and Harrison (7) cite similar medical cases involving iodine medications. The objectives of this study were to quantitate the amount of iodine from teat dip that gets into milk and to determine certain management factors that might affect the amount of iodine from teat dip that gets into the milk.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Iodophors have become increasingly popular as a bacteriostatic agent against mastitic organisms. The use of iodophor teat dips has increased milk iodine content (4, 8, 9, 10, 14). Evidence was presented (5) of increased iodine consumption of human beings due to changing consumption habits and advanced technological practices in animal agriculture, food processing, and preservation. There is concern that people may be consuming too much iodine. Goitrous foals have been born to mares inges-

A series of experiments compared effects of an iodophor teat dip with a chlorine teat dip on the iodine of milk. Milk samples from weigh jars were collected at varying intervals depending upon the experimental design. Samples first were defatted by centrifugation at about 3000 rpm for 5 rain. Defatted fluid milk was analyzed for iodine since the butterfat fraction contains little iodine (12). Total iodine analysis was by Technicon Autoanalyzer (16) following the method outlined for protein-bound iodine in blood serum, excluding the resin treatment step to remove inorganic iodine. In this procedure, the sample first was digested automatically in a mixture of nitric and perchloric acid and analyzed for iodine by its catalytic effect on the reduction of eerie ion by arsenious acid. Reduction of the ceric ion was recorded as read with a spectrophotometer. Available iodine in the iodophor teat dip is in the form of nonyl phenoxypolyethoxy ethanol-iodide complex (providing 1% titratable iodine), 11.2% of the total mixture.
Experiment I

Received November 23, 1977.

1This manuscript (77-5-192) is published with the

approval of the Director of the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station. 2Data in this paper are from the thesis of the

senior author, submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Kentucky in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the M.S. degree. 1978 J Dairy Sci 61:776-780

In three groups of six Holstein cows the effect of udder washing as opposed to no udder washing prior to milking on milk iodine content was measured with an iodophor teat dip as a postmilking treatment. The teat dipping was by an extra man in the milking pit in addition to

776

IODINE IN MILK FROM TEAT DIP the regular milkman. Teat dipping commenced after the control sample was taken, designated as day 1. Samples then were collected on day 3 with five milkings between samples. Teats of the two experimental groups were dipped with iodophor teat dip, one group having the udder washed with water (no additive) prior to milking while the other group was not washed but was massaged only to stimulate let-down of milk. The third group served as a control, and their teats were dipped with chlorine solution.
Experiment IV

777

Experiment II

Twelve Holstein cows were assigned into two groups of six, and their teats were dipped with either chlorine or an iodophor solution over 8 days. Samples were collected from the first three milkings (days 1 and 2) as pretreatment controls while all cows' teats were being dipped in chlorine solution. Teat dipping with the iodophor commenced at the evening milking on day 2. Milk samples were collected every 2nd day (days 3, 5, 7, and 9) at the morning and evening milkings. Samples of morning and evening milk were combined. All udders were washed with water not containing any udder wash solution.
Experiment I I I

This experiment was designed to provide additional evidence of the absorption hypotheses. Groups of six cows were assigned to two treatments, 1) tincture of iodine application to the skin (the area between the point of udder attachment and the vulva); teats of this group were dipped with the chlorine solution, and 2) control or chlorine teat dip only. As previously described, two samples were taken on days 1 and 2 as pretreatment control samples before treatment was initiated. Blood samples were taken on days 1 and on days 11 and 15. Milk samples, other than control, were taken on days 6, 11, and 15. Samples, both milk and blood, were taken at evening milkings. Treatment started on day 3. The tincture of iodine was applied once daily by spraying the skin with a pump-type window cleaner bottle. Tincture of iodine application stopped on day 11 to determine the time for the milk to return to normal. Blood samples were from the subcutaneous abdominal vein. All data were subjected to analysis of variance as described by Snedecor (15). Samples from the pretreatment period were used to correct for individual differences. Differences between the control period and the experimental or test period were subjected to analysis of variance.

The third experiment was designed to determine the mode o f action by which iodine enters the milk, by contamination or absorption, as well as to determine the extent of contamination or absorption. Two groups of four cows each were used, one group serving as the control having their teats dipped with chlorine solution. Only the teats on right udder half of the test group were dipped with the iodophor teat dip; the other teats were dipped with the chlorine solution. Samples from the test group (left and right half of udder) were taken by hand milking after the udder was washed and a strip cup used. Composite samples were taken from the weigh jar. The first two samples were taken on consecutive days, 1 and 2, before teat dipping began and were used as pretreatment controls. Additional samplings occurred on days 4, 7, 11, 15, 18, 21, and 24. The sampling took place over 24 days to show the point of maximal absorption.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Experiment I

Experiment I was proposed to determine if premilking management practices, i.e., udder washing as opposed to no udder wash, influences the iodine contamination in milk due to iodophor teat dip. The difference between the wash and no wash groups (Table 1), was only .7 ug/lO0 ml. Differences between the two iodophor dipped groups and the control groups were significant at 1%. The insignificant difference due to wash versus no wash is an indication iodine is not washed off the udder, and, most likely, the increase is n o t due to contamination but possibly due to absorption through the teat tissue and re-entry into the milk from the blood by the milk synthesis process. The results indicate no difference between Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 61, No. 6, 1978

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CONRAD AND HEMKEN

TABLE 1. Average iodine in milk (/~g/100 ml) with different premilking treatments. Treatment Day 3 20.3 18.4 16.4

Treatment Iodophor, wash Iodophor, no wash Control

Control Day 1 15.1 12.8 15.2

Difference c 4.8 a 5.6 a 1.2 b

a'bMeans with different superscripts differ (P<.01). CSix cows per treatment, standard error of mean .78.

premilking hygiene routines as suggested by Iwarrson and Ekman (8), indicating that iodine c o n t a m i n a t i o n in milk is n o t due to the a m o u n t of disinfectant remaining on the teats f r o m the foregoing milking. Also, the iodine in milk did n o t reach a m o u n t s f r o m bulk tank milk samples reported by researchers (9, 10), indicating that the m a x i m u m iodine in milk had n o t been attained or the teat dip itself did n o t provide as m u c h iodine to c o n t a m i n a t e the milk. Other factors such as season (6) or stage of lactation (17) might explain such differences; however, the length of exposure of the cows to the teat dip is the m o s t logical explanation.

Experiment

II

This e x p e r i m e n t was to d e t e r m i n e the cont e n t at which milk iodine w o u l d stop increasing

due to i o d o p h o r teat dip and to d e t e r m i n e the time to reach leveling point. T e a t dipping was maintained over 8 days to achieve the leveling of increased milk iodine f r o m teat dip. At the end of 8 days (Fig. 1), milk iodine increased 5.7 ~g/100 ml over the p r e t r e a t m e n t average while the control group decreased 2.9 u g / 1 0 0 ml f r o m p r e t r e a t m e n t . As had h a p p e n e d in almost all of these studies, the iodine in milk of the c o n t r o l group usually was increasing, decreasing, or fluctuating. Since all samples were analyzed in the laborat o r y at the same time and individuals within a group changed together, the day-to-day fluctuations in milk iodine were real. The spread between the two groups increased f r o m 4.6 to 5.4 to 7.3 to 8 . 6 / ~ g / m l by sample day. The continuing increase in iodine of milk indiates that adsorption may n o t have reached its maxim u m . Statistical analysis does show differences due to t r e a t m e n t and time by t r e a t m e n t with P<.01.

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FIG. 1. Influence of an iodophor teat dip on milk iodine as compared with a noniodine teat dip. Six cows per treatment with standard error of treatment mean of 1.09. Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 61, No. 6, 1978

FIG. 2. lodine of milk from cows whose right side teats were dipped with an iodophor teat dip compared with a control group whose teats were dipped in a noniodine teat dip. Six cows assigned to each treatment with standard errors for treatment mean of 3.27 for milk samples from udder halves and .73 for composite and control comparison.

IODINE IN MILK FROM TEAT DIP

779

TABLE 2. Iodine of milk (/ag/lO0 mI) and of plasma (/~g/100 ml) resulting from application of tincture of iodine.
Pretreatment

Treatment Milk samples Tincture of I Control Plasma samples Tincture of I Control

avg. Days 1 and 2

Day 6

Treatment period Day 11

Posttreatmerit Day 16

3.5 3.5 5.8 5.8

21.3 a 4.2 .. ...

6.7 5.3 8.4b 5.0

4.7 4.9 5.2 5.0

aMilk iodine content P<.01, standard error of mean .90. bPlasma iodine content P<.05, standard error of mean .42.

Experiment I II

Experiment III was designed to further test the hypothesis that iodine was absorbed as well as to determine the extent to which it was absorbed. Only the right teats of cows in the test group were dipped with the iodophor; the left teats were dipped in chlorine solution. The hypothesis being tested was that milk samples from the left udder half would increase in milk iodine content parallel with samples from the right udder half but slightly less. Figure 2 shows what was expected with one exception. On day 15 one sample from the left udder half recorded extraordinarily high iodine, most likely from a contaminant. When the control group (composite samples from weigh jar) was compared with the test groups, leveling occurred in the 20- to 24-day range of about 8 to 10 ug/100 ml. This upper limit may or may not have occurred earlier. Teat dip was applied to only the right teats, meaning only half as much iodine came in contact with the cow's skin. This experiment was analyzed in two ways. The analysis of right udder half versus left udder half showed no significant difference, thus upholding the projected hypothesis. Differences were significant for dip vs. nondip (P<.01) and time (P<.01). No statistical significance was noted for time by treatment.
Experiment I V

The purpose of this experiment was to docu-

ment further the absorption hypothesis. Application of tincture of iodine to the skin between the point of udder attachment and the vulva was chosen to determine if milk iodine content is elevated due to absorption of iodine through the skin. Tincture of iodine was chosen because of its availability and its relatively high concentration of iodine. In addition, iodine was absorbed through the skin for Kalkus, 1920 (11), who reported that tincture of iodine placed on the back of ewes would stop the appearance of goiter in lambs in areas deficient in iodine, Also, since literature indicates a significant correlation between iodine in plasma and in milk (1), samples of plasma were taken to show elevated blood iodine. As was expected, samples from the tincturetreated cows increased in iodine and were statistically different in the milk samples but not in the plasma samples. Milk samples from the tincture group increased 17.1 ug/100 ml over the control group on the 1st day of sampling (Table 2). Samples collected on day 11 contained less iodine than on day 6. This decline was attributed to less absorption of the tincture of iodine, owing to the morbid reaction of the cow's skin to the heavy applications of the tincture solution (approximately 5 to 7 ml per application). Iodine of milk was increased 8 to 10 ug/100 ml due to teat dipping with the iodophor teat dip. This agrees with Schumacher (14). lwarrson and Ekman (8, 9) report the increase in milk iodine was greater in Sweden, an increase Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 61, No. 6, 1978

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CONRAD AND ItEMKEN dine in the human diet. FASEB (FDA 71-294). 6 Garner, R. J., B. F. Swanson, and H. G. Jones. 1960. Fission products and the dairy cow. I11. Transfer of 1131 to milk following single and daily dosing. J. Agr. Sci. 55:283. 7 Harrison, M. T., W. D. Alexander, and R. MeG. Harden. 1963. Thyroid function and iodine metabolism in iodine induced hyperthyroid. Lancet 1: 1238. 8 lwarrson, K., and L. Ekman. 1973. The effect of a post milking teat dip on the iodine concentration of bulk herd milk. Acta Vet. Scand. 14:338. 9 lwarrson, K., and L. Ekman. 1974. Iodophor teat dipping and the iodine concentration of milk. Nord. Vet.-Med. 26: 31. 10 Joerin, M. M., and A. Bowering. 1972. Total iodine content of cow's milk. New Zealand. J. Dairy Sci. Technol. 7:155. 11 Kalkus, J. W. 1920. A study of goiter and associated conditions in domestic animals. Wash. Exp. Sta. Bull. 156. 12 Lengemann, F. W., and E. W. Swanson. 1957. A study of the secretion of iodine in milk of dairy cows, using daily oral doses of 113~. j. Dairy Sci. 40:216. 13 Packard, G. E., E. T. Williams, and S. E. Whellock. 1960. Congenital constructing goiter. Surgery 48: 422. 14 Schumacher, E. 1975. Contamination of milk by iodine and nonoxinol due to teat dipping in Lorasol CCT. Milchwissenschaft 30:333. 15 Snedecor, G. W. 1946. Statistical methods. 4th ed. Iowa State University Press. 16 Technicon Autoanalyzer Methodology. 1965. Technicon Laboratory Method File N-56. Technicon Instruments Corp. Chauney, New York. 17 Underwood, E. 1971. Page 281 in Trace elements in human and animal nutrition. 3rd Edition. Chapter 11. Academic Press, New York, 1971. 18 Wolff, J. 1964. Iodide goiter and the pharmacological effects of excess iodide. Amer. J. Med. 47: 101.

o f 18.4 u g / 1 0 0 ml for bulk t a n k milk samples w h e n t e a t s w e r e d i p p e d for 2 wk. However, t h e y did n o t use c o n t r o l c o w s at t h e same time. Connally (4) and J o e r i n and Bowering ( 1 0 ) a r e near a g r e e m e n t , r e p o r t i n g ranges o f 11.3 to 34.6 u g / 1 0 0 ml and 1 to 75 u g / l O 0 ml o f increased iodine in milk. The d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n t h e p r o d u c t s , e x t e n t o f application, and design o f e x p e r i m e n t s are p r o b a b l e reasons for the variation b e t w e e n studies. The e x p e r i m e n t involving t i n c t u r e o f iodine to the skin, c o u p l e d with t h e gradual increase in milk iodine in o t h e r studies, indicates t h a t iodine is a b s o r b e d i n t o t h e c o w ' s s y s t e m and s e c r e t e d i n t o the milk.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was s u p p o r t e d in part b y Econ o m i c s L a b o r a t o r y , Inc.

REFERENCES

1 Alderman, G., and M. H. Stranks. 1967. The iodine content of bulk herd milk in summer in relation to estimated dietary intake of cows. J. Sci. Fd. Agr. 18:151. 2 Baker, H. J., and H. R. Lindsey. 1968. Equine goiter due to excess dietary iodide. J. Amer. Vet. Med. Ass. 153:1618. 3 Begg, T. B., and R. Hall. 1963. Iodide goiter and hyperthyroidism. Quart. J. Med. 32:351. 4 Connally, R. J. 1971. The changing iodine environment of Tasmania. Med. J. Aust. 2:1191. 5 Fisher, K. D., and C. J. Carr. 1974. Iodine in Foods: Chemical methodology and sources of io-

Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 61, No. 6, 1978