CortiCow project: development of a rapid and non-invasive lateral flow immunoassay for the evaluation of cortisol levels in bovine saliva

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21014/actaimeko.v13i1.1623

Keywords:

animal welfare, lateral flow immunoassay, cortisol, saliva, bovine, measurements

Abstract

Being able to obtain an objective and repeatable measurement of stress levels from a single subject represents a primary issue in animal welfare science, especially in relation to cattle farming. A potential solution has been recently identified in the determination of cortisol’s salivary levels: a non-invasive method strictly related to acute stress. The development of an on-field, easy-to-use method to perform the analysis is yet to be validated. In this study, we developed and tested the reliability of salivary cortisol as a marker for the evaluation of animal welfare. We aimed to develop an on-field use Lateral Flow Immunoassay (LFIA) for the evaluation of acute stress in bovines.

The availability of this non-invasive diagnostic tool will facilitate monitoring of animal welfare. In the short term, this innovation is expected to assist farmers and veterinarians in performing a more objective evaluation of the animal’s acute stress levels.

In the long term, the device could become a key-instrument for the EU’s growing necessity to better monitor and identify the potential stressor factors in animal farming.

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Published

2024-03-23

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 1 (2024)

Section

Research Papers

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Copyright (c) 2024 Elena Diaz Vicuna, Laura Anfossi, Fabio Di Nardo, Claudio Forte, Laura Ozella

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