Effect of dairy animal species and of the type of starter cultures on the cholesterol content of manufactured fermented milks

Abstract

The aim of the research was to estimate the influence of type of starter cultures (yoghurt, kefir and butter) on the cholesterol content in fermented milk produced from cow’s, goat’s and ewe’s milk. It was established that cow’s milk fat was the richest in cholesterol; on the contrary, ewe’s milk cholesterol level was the lowest as calculated per g of fat. Goat’s milk contained the smallest amount of cholesterol calculated per 100g of milk.In freshly fermented milks (yoghurt, kefir, cultured milk), obtained from the milk of three animal species, a statistically significant lowering of cholesterol, in comparison to pasteurised cow’s, goat’s and ewe’s milk, was observed. However, a significant influence of the starter culture kind and chilled storage time of fermented milks on cholesterol content was not observed in the whole range of products obtained from each animal species’ milk.