COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE FATTY ACID COMPOSITION IN HUMAN, COW AND GOAT MILK AND THEIR INTERPOSITIONAL DISTRIBUTION IN TRIACYLGLYCEROLS

• Published in: Química Nova 2025-01, Vol.48 (3)
• Main Authors: Ferreira, Giovanna C. A., Santos, Patricia D., Zangirolami, Marcela S., Figueiredo, Alisson L., Fernandes, Cleverton S., Silva, Geovane A. R. da, Basso, Ernani A., Santos, Oscar O.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY; gas chromatography; infant formula; lipids; milk
• ISSN: 0100-4042; 1678-7064; 1678-7064
• DOI: 10.21577/0100-4042.20250052

Exploring the triacylglycerols composition in milk samples from different ruminant species is crucial for dairy product development. Identifying the fatty acid (FA) composition in human milk is essential and is usually performed using gas chromatography (GC). Heat maps are useful for visualizing these results, aiding in pattern identification and relationships between samples and variables. Additionally, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy provides important qualitative and quantitative information about fatty acids (FA). In the present study, we compare the fatty acid composition in samples of HM, cow milk, and goat milk, as well as to demonstrate their positional distribution in triacylglycerols (TAGs). Human milk contains 49.21% saturated fatty acids (SFAs), 34.32% monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), and 16.47% polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), including 2.14% docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and 13.02% linoleic acid (LA). On the other hand, cow and goat milk have higher proportions of SFAs (56.2 and 58.02%, respectively) and MUFAs (40.56 and 40.95%, respectively), but lower amounts of PUFAs (3.24 and 1.03%, respectively), with significantly lower quantities of DHA (0.03 and 0.43%, respectively) and LA (1.46 and 2.76%, respectively). Additionally, fatty acids in ruminant milk mainly consist of long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs), with oleic acid being the most abundant.