Determination of Major and Minor Elements in Maltese Sheep, Goat and Cow Milk Using Microwave Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrophotometry

Ritianne Spiteri,Everaldo Attard

doi:10.5539/jas.v9n8p43

Abstract

The mineral content of milk from sheep, goats and cows bred in Malta and Gozo were determined for the first time. Two hundred and twenty samples were collected from cow, sheep and goat farms in Malta and Gozo. Ten macro and micro minerals were analysed, using microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrophotometry.No significant differences were observed between localities for the metals in the ruminant milk. Three micro minerals, Mn, Cr and Cd were not detected in the three milk types. However, most metals differed significantly between ruminants. Potassium was highest in cow milk, while Ca was significantly the highest in sheep milk. The other metals occurred at much lower concentrations. For the micro minerals, sheep milk exhibited the highest concentrations for Fe, Mg and Cu while cow milk showed the highest values for Zn and Ba. Principal component analysis revealed the separation of the cow and sheep milk samples into two distinct clusters, while the goat milk samples were scattered across the two clusters. This shows the distinctiveness of the sheep milk over the other two milk types.

Highlights

The Maltese archipelago is situated at the centre of the Mediterranean Sea
No significant difference in the mean concentration of Fe in cow and goat milk between Malta and Gozo was observed; a significant difference was observed in the Fe content of sheep milk between the two islands (p < 0.05)
The mean concentration of Ca in sheep and goat milk between Malta and Gozo did not vary significantly; a significant difference was observed between the Ca concentrations of cow milk between the two islands (p < 0.05)

Summary

Introduction

The Maltese archipelago is situated at the centre of the Mediterranean Sea. It consists mainly of three inhabited islands: Malta, Gozo and Comino. The two main islands, Malta and Gozo, cover an area of approximately 300 km and 100 km, respectively. On these islands, there are five dairy goat breeds which are the Maltese, the Saanen, the Alpine, the Girgentana and the Cross-Breed and with regards to dairy sheep, there are the Maltese, the East Friesian, the Comisana and the Cross-Breed. The most common dairy breeds for both sheep and goats are the Cross-Breed, a hybrid cross between the Maltese and the East Friesian in the case of sheep and a hybrid cross between the Maltese and Saanen or Alpine for goats. According to the ‘Malta Veterinary and Phytosanitary Regulation Directorate’ (personal communication, 2015), in November 2014 in Malta there were approximately 85 dairy cow farms and approximately 1339 farms that involve dairy sheep and goats while in Gozo there were approximately 35 dairy cow farms and approximately 561 farms rearing dairy sheep and goat

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