Relationship between the content of chlorinated hydrocarbons and fatty acid composition of milk fat

Organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in raw bovine milk from various dairy farms in Beja, Tunisia: contamination status, dietary intake, and health risk assessment for the consumers

We determined organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in raw bovine milk taken directly from the milking equipment for different animals and various farms in Béja region, which is one of the largest milk producing areas in Tunisia. All milk samples were contaminated with one or more pesticides and exhibited measurable concentrations of some PCB congeners. The residue levels are generally marked by the predominance of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs) (median: 17.60 ng g^-1 fat), followed by hexachlorobenzene (HCB) (median: 14.31 ng g^-1 fat), PCBs (median: 4.71 ng g^-1 fat), and hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) (median: 0.77 ng g^-1 fat). DDT/DDE ratios across the samples vary between 0.09 to 32.24 and exhibit the hypothesis of sustaining illegal use of the banned pesticide. The historical or recent use of OCPs and possible emission sources of PCBs identified near studied farms may lead to increased levels of these contaminants in produced milk. The estimated daily intake (EDI) values were several orders of magnitude below the tolerable daily intake (TDI) fixed by FAO/WHO, though recorded concentration in some samples exceeded the maximum residue limits (MRLs) fixed by the EU, especially for OCPs. According to health risk assessments, consumption of raw milk did not pose an obvious cancer risk or other health problems for local inhabitants.

The Role of Bovine and Non-Bovine Milk in Cardiometabolic Health: Should We Raise the "Baa"?

Although causality is yet to be confirmed, a considerable volume of research has explored the relationships between cow milk consumption, type II diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Contrastingly, it has not been comprehensively examined whether milk of non-bovine origin can provide cardiometabolic protection. This narrative review outlines the marked differences in macronutrient composition, particularly protein and lipid content, and discusses how whole milk product (and individual milk ingredients) from different species could impact cardiometabolic health. There is some data, although primarily from compositional analyses, animal studies, and acute clinical trials, that non-bovine milk (notably sheep and goat milk) could be a viable substitute to cow milk for the maintenance, or enhancement, of cardiometabolic health. With a high content of medium-chain triglycerides, conjugated linoleic acid, leucine, and essential minerals, sheep milk could assist in the prevention of metabolic-related disorders. Similarly, albeit with a lower content of such functional compounds relative to sheep milk, goat and buffalo milk could be plausible counterparts to cow milk. However, the evidence required to generate nutritional recommendations for ‘non-bovine milk’ is currently lacking. Longer-term randomised controlled trials must assess how the bioactive ingredients of different species’ milks collectively influence biomarkers of, and subsequently incidence of, cardiometabolic health.

The Comparison of Nutritional Value of Human Milk with Other Mammals' Milk

(1) Background: The variation in the concentration of different components found in milk depends on mammalian species, genetic, physiological, nutritional factors, and environmental conditions. Here, we analyse, for the first time, the content of different components (cholesterol concentration and fatty acids composition as well as the overall fat and mineral content determined using the same analytical methods) in milk of different mammal species. (2) Methods: The samples (n = 52) of human, cow, sheep, goat and mare milk were analyzed in triplicate for: cholesterol concentration, fatty acids profile and fat and mineral content (calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, iron, zinc). (3) Results: The highest fat content was reported in sheep milk (7.10 ± 3.21 g/dL). The highest cholesterol concentration was observed in bovine (20.58 ± 4.21 mg/dL) and sheep milk (17.07 ± 1.18 mg/dL). The saturated fatty acids were the lowest in human milk (46.60 ± 7.88% of total fatty acids). Goat milk had the highest zinc (0.69 ± 0.17 mg/dL), magnesium (17.30 ± 2.70 mg/dL) and potassium (183.60 ± 17.20 mg/dL) content. Sheep milk had the highest sodium (52.10 ± 3.20 mg/dL) and calcium (181.70 ± 17.20 mg/dL) concentration values. (4) Conclusions: The differences in nutritional value of milk could be perceived as a milk profile marker, helping to choose the best food for human nutrition.