Changes in milk yield and composition of colostrum and regular milk from four buffalo breeds in China during lactation.

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Chinese local buffalos are mainly used as draft animals because of their low productivity but their crossbreeding with Murrah and Nili-Ravi breeds can produce offspring with a greatly improved milk yield. However, no studies have reported the characteristics of milk produced during lactation by these crossbred buffalo. This study investigated changes in yield, and the physicochemical composition of milk of Murrah, Nili-Ravi, Murrah×local, Murrah×Nili-Ravi×local buffalos with milk yields of 1022.49 ± 90.26 kg, 1193.02 ± 97.65 kg, 805.46 ± 76.57 kg and 1499.35 ± 105.32 kg respectively over a 210-day period. The protein, fat, ash and total solids contents of milk from the hybrids decreased, but the yield of these nutritional components increased because of the greater improvement in milk yield. As lactation progressed, lactose content increased, but this change was not significant after the 15th day postpartum; the protein content decreased whereas fat content increased significantly during the first three days; ash content changed significantly during the first 24 h postpartum but further changes were not significant. Gel electrophoresis was used to identify the protein profile with no difference found between the four breeds. After crossbreeding, the milk production of triple-crossbred buffalo was higher than Murrah, Nili-Ravi and the local Chinese buffalo, making it a potential resource for the Chinese dairy market. The results of this experiment will provide basic data for making better use of buffalo milk, planning crossbreeding programs, and establishing standards for buffalo milk. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.