NUTRITIONAL EVALUATION OF MILK FROM DIFFERENT DAIRY BREEDS IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

The current study assessed breed- and species-specific variation in milk composition among primary dairy breeds in Pakistan. One hundred forty milk samples from seven breeds (Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Cholistani, Holstein Friesian, and Jersey among cattle, and Nili-Ravi and Kundi among buffalo) were collected across various regions due to seasonal variation in the year. 20 of each breed were collected. Milk was sampled for yield, fat, protein, lactose, solids-not-fat (SNF), total solids (TS), calcium, and other milk composition parameters. The effect of breed was highly significant for fat, protein, total solids, calcium, and milk yield (p < 0.001). Buffalo milk presented a significantly higher fat (7.29 ± 0.60%) and total solids content (17.45 ± 0.83%) compared to cow milk (4.56 ± 0.67% fat; 13.50 ± 0.89% total solids). The calcium level was also significantly higher in buffalo milk (149 ± 10 mg/100 mL) than in cow milk (122 ± 9 mg/100 mL). In contrast, Holstein Friesian cows produced the highest milk yield (17.82 ± 2.45 kg/day), but their fat and solids contents were lower than those of Jersey and indigenous cattle breeds. The Pearson correlation coefficient showed a strong positive association between fat and total solids (r = 0.84, p < 0.001) and a negative association between light milk and fat percentage (r = –0.41, p < 0.001). Stepwise regression showed that fat, protein, and lactose accounted for 88% of the variation in TS (R² = 0.88). These results demonstrate substantial genetic variability in milk nutrient content among Pakistani dairy breeds and provide some evidence for breed-specific dairy development policy.