Study of the Variability in Fatty Acids and Carotenoid Profiles: Laying the Ground for Tank Milk Authentication

Ana Villar, Ibán Vázquez-González, Fernando Vicente, Gregorio Salcedo, Laura González, Adrián Botana, Luís José Royo, Paola Eguinoa and Juan Busqué
Additional contact information
Ana Villar: Centro de Investigación y Formación Agrarias (CIFA), Gobierno de Cantabria, 39600 Muriedas, Spain
Ibán Vázquez-González: Departamento de Economía Aplicada, Escola Politécnica Superior de Enxeñaría de Lugo, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), 27002 Lugo, Spain
Fernando Vicente: Servicio Regional de Investigación y Desarrollo Agroalimentario (SERIDA), 33300 Villaviciosa, Spain
Gregorio Salcedo: CIFP “La Granja”, 39792 Heras, Spain
Laura González: Centro de Investigaciones Agrarias de Mabegondo (CIAM), 15318 Abegondo, Spain
Adrián Botana: Centro de Investigaciones Agrarias de Mabegondo (CIAM), 15318 Abegondo, Spain
Luís José Royo: Servicio Regional de Investigación y Desarrollo Agroalimentario (SERIDA), 33300 Villaviciosa, Spain
Paola Eguinoa: Instituto Navarro de Tecnologías e Infraestructuras Agroalimentarias, 31610 Villava, Spain
Juan Busqué: Centro de Investigación y Formación Agrarias (CIFA), Gobierno de Cantabria, 39600 Muriedas, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 8, 1-17

Abstract: This study analyzes 174 tank milk samples taken from 89 commercial farms located all along the Cantabrian Coast (Green Spain). Sampling was performed in two periods: autumn 2016 and spring 2017. A survey was carried out for every day of sampling to record the average lactating dairy cow production and its diet composition. For each sample, the fatty acid (FA) profile (49 FA plus its main relationships) and nine fat-soluble antioxidant (FSA) profiles (retinol (vitamin A), α- and Υ-tocopherol (vitamin E), all-trans-β-carotene, 9-cis-β-carotene, 13-cis-β-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and β-cryptoxanthin) were determined. The milk production varied between 7.3 and 45.9 liters per cow per day, highlighting the diversity found among production systems. The milk fat content ranged from 2.64% to 4.38% and the protein content from 2.87% to 3.56%. Regarding the fatty acids profile, the percentage of saturated fat varied between 59.95% and 75.99%. The linolenic acid content fluctuated between 0.21 and 1.31 and rumenic acid ranged from 0.20 to 2.47 (g 100 g −1 total FA). The most important correlations between diet and milk FA were always related to the content of fresh grass and total forage (which is defined by both fresh and conserved forage derived from fresh grass (GCF)) in the diet. The content of vaccenic acid, linolenic acid, total omega-3, rumenic acid, and total CLA isomers showed the highest correlation with the proportion of fresh grass in the diet. The antioxidant contents were also highly variable, although correlations with dietary components were lower. The highest correlations were between total forage content (fresh grass (FG) plus GCF) and lutein, all-trans-β-carotene, and 13-cis-β-carotene. Diets without fresh grass had lower omega-3 content, CLA, vaccenic acid, lutein, all-trans-β-carotene, and 13-cis-β-carotene.

Keywords: grass-fed milk; fatty acid profile; carotenoid; diet; authentication (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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