Bazkatze estentsiboaren eta edoskitzaroaren eragina behor esnearen kalitate nutrizionalean: Effect of grazing and lactation stage on mare milk nutritional quality

Abstract

In Asia and Europe, a number of beneficial properties are attributed to mare milk. However, mare milk chemical composition is not fully understood yet. As observed in milk from other mammal species, chemical composition can be affected by different production factors. Unfortunately, studies on mare milk composition often fail to consider the effect of these factors. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of lactation stage and the length of the grazing period on the nutritional quality of mare milk. Milk samples were collected from eighteen individual mares belonging to three different farms during the complete lactation period (six months). Milk samples were analysed for gross composition, mineral elements, vitamins, fatty acids, total polyphenols and antioxidant capacity, using advanced analytical methods. Statistical analysis was done using the stepwise discriminant analysis of the analysis of the variance (ANOVA). Both lactation stage and management system affected mare milk nutritional quality. Overall, the length of the grazing period determined the fatty acid profile of the milk, being milk samples from mares that grazed for a longer period richer in beneficial (omega-3 polyunsaturated) fatty acids. On the other hand, the content of some compounds, especially mineral elements, fatty acids, total protein and some vitamins, decreased at late lactation. According to these results, the highest nutritional quality belonged to mare milk from early-mid lactation stages and to that milked from mares on a long grazing period.