A study on the composition and microbiology of raw milk from three breeds of buffalo in Thailand

Abstract

The objective of this study is to investigate the milk quality parameters and microbiological status of raw buffalo milk. Seventy nine samples of raw buffalo milk were collected from three types of buffalo including swamp buffalo (n=10), river buffalo (Murrah) (n=55) and crossbreed buffalo (Murrah × swamp buffalo; F1) (n=14). Average milk compositions were; fat 6.35%, protein 4.13%, lactose 4.79%, solid not fat (SNF) 9.8% and total solid (TS) 16.22% with freezing point (FP) at -0.61 oC and pH 6.72. Instead of lactose that was higher in Murrah milk rather than in swamp buffalo milk, most of other parameters; fat, protein, SNF, TS, FP and pH of milk from swamp buffalo were higher than those of Murrah milk. Moreover, those parameters of the crossbreeds were presented in between those of milk from swamp buffalos and Murrah. Average of electrical resistance (ER) and somatic cell counts (SCC) were 659 units and 147,494 cells/ml respectively. Microbiological analysis of an average total plate count (TPC) was 4.43 × 105 cfu/ml, which was not shown any significantly different among three types of samples. Some pathogenic microorganisms were isolated such as Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas spp., Enterobacter spp. and Escherichia coli which most presented in milk samples of Murrah. All milk quality and microbiological values reveal the need of upgrade breeding to improve the quality and hygienic status of buffalo milk production in Thailand.