Compositional and fatty acid analysis of Kankrej cows’ milk

Abstract

A study was conducted to assess the composition and fatty acid profile of milk obtained from Kankrej Cows. Milk samples from twenty Kankrej cows (average 60 days in milk; 9.5 kg/d of milk yield and 355 kg of body weight) were collected to determine milk composition and fatty acid profile. Mean milk fat, solids not fat, protein and lactose were 4.15, 8.55, 3.40 and 4.48%, respectively. In Kankrej cow milk saturated fatty acids (SFA) accounted for 73.17% and unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) accounted for 26.83% of total fatty acids. In UFA, concentration monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) was 22.94% and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) was 3.89%. The ratio UFA/SFA was 0.37 which ranged from value 0.28 to 0.47. Among the SFA, palmitic acid (C16:0; 31.22%) was present in the highest level followed by stearic acid (C18:0; 16.02%) and myristic acid (C14:0; 13.45%). Oleic acid (C18:1) was ranged between 13.43 to 25.31%. The average value for C4:0 and C6:0 were 2.07 and 1.84%, respectively. Linoleic acid (C18:2) and linolenic acid (C18:3) were ranged between 1.12 to 5.42% and 0.65 to 2.18%, respectively. Results indicated that milk composition and fatty acid profile of Kankrej cow are comparable to other Indigenous breeds