Comparison of Fatty Acid and Cholesterol Content of Pakistani Water Buffalo Breeds

Present study evaluates the milk fatty acid (FA) composition and cholesterol content of two main Pakistani dairy breeds water buffaloes, i.e. Kundi and Nili-Ravi (n = 25 for each breed). The buffaloes were housed together and received the same diet. The results show a significant variation (P < 0.05) in the FA content of the two breeds. The milk fat of Kundi buffalo was found to contain significantly lower (P < 0.05) amount of saturated fatty acid content than Nili-Ravi buffaloes (66.96 and 69.09 g/100 g). Determined mean monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) contents (27.62 vs. 25.20 g/100g) and total trans fatty acids (3.48 vs. 2.48) were significantly elevated (P < 0.05) in the milk fat of Kundi buffaloes. Amount of fat and conjugated linoleic acid content was higher (P = 0.04) in Kundi buffalo as compared to Nili-Ravi buffaloes (7.00 vs. 7.78 g /100g and 0.80 vs. 0.71g / 100g), while cholesterol content was not different among both breeds ranging from 8.89 – 10.24 mg /dl. Present studies show that in future genetic selection programs along with altered buffalo nutrition may be able to result in optimum levels of various fatty acids in milk.