Medical Definition of Bovine somatotropin
1.
A growth hormone found incattle, a version of this hormone is also foundin all mammals, including humans. Injections of this hormonedramatically increase the milk production of lactating cows. In pastyears, the hormone was very expensive because it could only be taken from slaughtered cows, but in the early '90s researchers learned how to geneticallyengineered the bacterium E. Coli to produce it. Now, many dairy producers use the hormone, but the practice is controversial because the use of bST may increase the incidence of mastitis (udder infection) in cows, and the long-termhuman health effects of the slightly increased hormone levels in themilk from treated cows have not been established.
See: porcine somatotrophin.
(09 Oct 1997)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Bovine Somatotropin
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