Comparison Of Chemical And Mineral Content Of Milk From Human, Cow, Buffalo, Camel And Goat In Egypt

Milk is an important food; it is considered as a good source of Ca. Comparison studies of chemical and mineral contents of milk from human, cow, buffalo, camel and goat in Egypt are rare, so we determine chemical and mineral composition cows; camels; buffalo and goats milk in Egypt and to compare with the human milk since such comparisons are rare in Egypt. There are several studies dealing with the chemical composition of milk, but they are foreign, nonEgyptian. It is known that changing of environment has a significant effect on natural physiological function of both human and animals, so it was very important to made such study on Egyptian environment (ecology), hoping to give understanding and explain some of the malnutrition problems in Egypt. Three hundred and two milk samples were obtained at random from: cows; camels; buffalo and goats (n: 44, 108, 40, 40 respectively), while human milk was obtained from healthy lactating women (n: 70, after 3 rd month of lactation). Chemical constituents as protein, fat, carbohydrates, moisture, ash and lactose were determined. Mineral contents as calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), Zinc (Zn), sodium (Na), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), copper (Cu), phosphorous (P) and manganese (Mn) were measured in the ash. Human milk contains the lowest protein and ash content. Buffalo milk has the highest fat and total solids content. It gives the higher yield of energy. Human milk contains the highest carbohydrates and lactose content (4.98 gm% carbohydrates, of which 4.70 are lactose, i.e. it represent 94.46 %). Human milk contains the lowest concentration of Ca, P, Fe, Zn, Na, K and Mg. Ca: P ratio of human milk is higher (2.32 vs 1.18-1.47) than other species. Mn content of human milk is higher (human milk contains ≈ 6.5 times camel and cow milk and 24.14 times as goat milk). Buffalo milk has the highest Ca, P and Mg content. Camel milk has the highest Fe, Zn, Na and Cu content. Goat milk has the highest K content. Chemical and mineral content of the 5 studied species varied widely. Camel, buffalo, cow and goat milk cannot replace human milk but it may complement it.