Comparative Physicochemical and Mineral Characterization of Cow, Goat and Sheep Milk: Implications for Nutritional Quality

Abstract

Milk from diverse animal sources exhibits difference in their nutritional and industrial value due to variations in their composition. The current research trial was carried out to compare the physicochemical and mineral content of cow, goat and sheep milk under the same analytical conditions. Raw milk samples were procured from the dairy farm of University of Agriculture, Faisalabad and subjected to various physicochemical analysis including pH, titratable acidity, moisture, protein, fat, solids-not-fat (SNF), total solids (TS) by following the standard protocols of AOAC. Whereas selected minerals i.e. Calcium (Ca), Potassium (K), Sodium (Na), Magnesium (Mg) and Iron (Fe) concentrations were measured using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). Significant compositional differences (p < 0.05) were observed in milk species. Sheep milk displayed the highest protein (5.74 ± 0.22%), fat (7.65 ± 0.31%), SNF (11.05 ± 0.44%) and total solids (19.65 ± 0.72%) contents, whereas cow milk had the highest moisture level (87.06 ± 3.48%). Considering mineral content, goat milk showed the highest Ca concentration (2116.3 ± 11.25 mg/L), while sheep milk contained the highest K (1517.5 ± 25.38 mg/L) and Mg (184.2 ± 15.04 mg/L) levels. Cow milk exhibited the highest Na (497.3 ± 58.33 mg/L) and Fe (2.00 ± 0.26 mg/L) concentrations. There were no significant differences between the pH of the milk species. The finding explains that the sheep milk has a more concentrated nutrient profile rich in protein, fat, total solids and mineral contents while the goat milk is rich in calcium. The results of these studies can be further processed for nutritional evaluations, development of dairy products and utilization of small ruminant milk in value added dairy applications.