Comparison of milk samples collected from some buffalo breeds and crossbreeds in China

Abstract

Buffaloes are the second largest milk producers in the world and China has rich buffalo resources. However, the nutrient potential of buffalo milk (BM) has not been fully determined and the information about BM from different breeds and crossbreeds is still quite limited. Therefore, the gross composition, fatty acids, and amino acids of BM were determined in milk samples from Murrah and Nili-Ravi river breeds and first (F1) and second (F2) generation of Murrah × Guangxi swamp buffalo crossbreeds. Buffalo breeds consist of two pure river breeds (Murrah and Nili-Ravi) and two crossbreeds (Murrah river buffalo × Guangxi swamp buffalo, first and second generation) (F1 and F2). Results revealed the BM contained 19.28% total solids, 5.30% crude protein, 7.97% fat on average, high levels of total amino acids, and essential amino acids. From the major minerals investigated, BM was also rich in total calcium and phosphorus contents (192.2 and 124.3 mg 100 mL−1, respectively). Statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) in the proportions of gross chemical composition, fatty acids, and amino acids were observed between river buffalo breeds and river × swamp crossbreeds. Milk from crossbreed buffaloes was found to contain more monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and less saturated fatty acids (SFAs) than milk from Murrah and Nili-Ravi buffaloes. In addition, BM samples collected from crossbreeds were good supply of total amino acids and essential amino acids. The results indicate that BM is of significance in contributing to human nutrition and our data also suggest that BM from Chinese crossbreeds has better nutritional value than that of river buffalo breeds.