Chemical Composition, Nitrogen Fractions and Amino Acids Profile of Milk from Different Animal Species

Milk composition is an imperative aspect which influences the quality of dairy products. The objective of study was to compare the chemical composition, nitrogen fractions and amino acids profile of milk from buffalo, cow, sheep, goat, and camel. Sheep milk was found to be highest in fat (6.82%+/- 0.04%), solid-not-fat (11.24%+/- 0.02%), total solids (18.05%+/- 0.05%), protein (5.15%+/- 0.06%) and casein (3.87%+/- 0.04%) contents followed by buffalo milk. Maximum whey proteins were observed in camel milk (0.80%+/- 0.03%), buffalo (0.68%+/- 0.02%) and sheep (0.66%+/- 0.02%) milk. The non-protein-nitrogen contents varied from 0.33% to 0.62% among different milk species. The highest r-values were recorded for correlations between crude protein and casein in buffalo (r = 0.82), cow (r = 0.88), sheep (r = 0.86) and goat milk (r = 0.98). The caseins and whey proteins were also positively correlated with true proteins in all milk species. A favorable balance of branched-chain amino acids; leucine, isoleucine, and valine were found both in casein and whey proteins. Leucine content was highest in cow (108 +/- 2.3 mg/g), camel (96 +/- 2.2 mg/g) and buffalo (90 +/- 2.4 mg/g) milk caseins. Maximum concentrations of isoleucine, phenylalanine, and histidine were noticed in goat milk caseins. Glutamic acid and proline were dominant among non-essential amino acids. Conclusively, current exploration is important for milk processors to design nutritious and consistent quality end products.