Chemical composition and whey protein fraction of late lactation mares' milk

Colostrum and milk characteristics in Murgese breed mares

“…In milk, the highest value (10.94 g/100 g) was observed at 15 days, whereas there were no significant differences between the remaining sampling periods. A similar trend was observed for protein content, with values ranging from 2.83 (15 days) to 1.75 (150 days) g/100 g. These data are in agreement with previous studies (Caroprese et al 2007;Markiewicz-Keszycka et al 2013). The lactose content observed in colostrum was 4.02 g/100 g. In milk samples it significantly increased, reaching the highest value at 150 days.…”

“…A similar trend was observed in a study on the Italian Heavy Draft mare breed (Centoducati et al 2012). As shown in Table 1, the fat content of colostrum was 2.95 g/100 g. During lactation, the fat content significantly decreased (P < 0.001): the values ranged from 1.20 (15 days) to 0.22 (150 days) g/100 g. Mare's milk is characterized by a very low fat content and the trend observed in this study is in line with previous studies (Caroprese et al 2007;Markiewicz-Keszycka et al 2013). Pikul and Wojtowski (2008), in a study on mares in the fifth and sixth months of lactation, reported a fat content over 1.0 g/100 g. Hand milking may be responsible for the low fat content of milk from Murgese mares, since it did not allow a complete milk removal from the udder (Caroprese et al 2007).…”

“…The lactose content observed in colostrum was 4.02 g/100 g. In milk samples it significantly increased, reaching the highest value at 150 days. Similar trends in lactation of 150 days were recorded in Murgese breed (Caroprese et al 2007), in Lusitano breed (Santos and Silvestre 2008), in Heavy Draft breed (Centoducati et al 2012), and in Polish breed (Markiewicz-Keszycka et al 2013). The value of pH was 6.69 in colostrum, and it changed significantly during lactation (P < 0.001): the value observed at 15 days (6.85) was significantly lower than those observed at 90 and 150 days.…”

“…Summarizing what has been found so far it can be stated that mare's milk composition is quite different from that of other farm animal species (Dankow et al 2006); it is rather more similar to human milk (Pietrzak-Fiecko et al 2009;Markiewicz-Keszycka et al 2013), which makes it an effective substitute for mother's milk for premature newborns, as well as the best alternative of cow milk in allergic children (Cosentino et al 2015). Besides, the composition of milk and the nutritive value of its components may vary according to several factors, such as lactational stage, age, parity, nutrition.…”

Influence of stage of lactation and year season on composition of mares' colostrum and milk and method and time of storage on vitamin C content in mares' milk

“…Mares' milk is characterised by unique chemical composition as compared to the milk of other farm animal species. It is comprised of approximately 1% fat, 2% protein and 7% lactose, and is a source of bioactive components such as lysozyme, lactoferrin, immunoglobulin, long‐chain n‐3 fatty acids and fat‐soluble vitamins …”