Iodine Determination in Raw Cow's Milk in Iran

Iodine is an essential trace element in the human diet. The following work presents the latest information concerned with iodine determination in raw milk, in Iran. Iodine content of milk was determined by Sandell-Kolthoff method where the samples were taken from Holstein dairy cows, in Shahrkord, the central part of Iran. Thirty six samples were taken from transportation tanks in semi industrial farms (group 1) and 66 samples were taken from 66 cows in an industrial dairy farm (group 2). The mean iodine content of group 1 was 148.02 ± 85.36 g/L, where the minimum and maximum iodine concentrations were 20 g/L and 289 g/L, respectively. In group 2 the mean iodine content was 314.27 ± 32.72 g/L, where the minimum and maximum concentration were 227 g/L and 378 g/L, respectively. Milk iodine concentration in group 1 is significantly different from the amounts obtained in group 2 (P £ 0.05). Mean iodine value of all the samples was 225.59 ± 9792 g/L. Mean iodine concentration did not changed in rainy and dry seasons. This study indicated that cow's milk might be an important source to provide the body with the required iodine.