Fatty Acids and Mineral Content in Milk of Locally Reared Ruminant in Sokoto

Abstract

The nutritional content of milk is determined by its protein, free fatty acids, and essential mineral contents which are indicators of high- quality dairy. This work aimed to evaluate some nutritional indices of milk obtained from locally reared Sokoto Red goats, Yankasa sheep,  and Red Fulani cows. Milk samples were collected from each group of five breastfeeding goats, sheep, and cows. Crude protein and  percent ash contents were determined using the Kjeldahl method while free fatty acid and mineral contents were determined using Gas  Chromatography (GC) and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS), respectively. The results obtained show that the percent crude  proteins of cows, sheep, and goats were 7.00 ± 0.10, 9.60 ± 0.10, and 25.50 ± 0.10 %, respectively. The percent abundance of free fatty  acids show that saturated fatty acids (SFA) were 54.70, 46.19, and 32.28 %, monounsaturated fatty acids (MFA) were 54.96, 47.76, and  35.94 %, while polyunsaturated fatty acids (PFA) were 1.71, 6.04, and 2.99 %, respectively for cow, goat, and sheep. The content of zinc,  potassium, and magnesium in the samples were 24.30, 35.50, and 15.70 mg/L, and 11.20, 61.30, and 23.20 mg/L; and 85.20, 97.3, and 86.30 mg/L, respectively for cow, goat, and sheep milk. Results also showed that there is significant difference (p < 0.05), between goat's  milk which had high percent crude protein, zinc, magnesium, and potassium when compared with sheep and cow milk. Interestingly,  sheep milk contained the important essential fatty acids arachidonic acid and nervonic acid in cow's milk. Quantitatively, goat and sheep  milk MFA and PFA contents are superior to that in cow milk. While goat milk is rich in zinc, potassium, and magnesium, and significant  presence of arachidonic acid in sheep milk, no significant difference was observed in the tested constituents of goat and sheep milk.