Comparison of the Major Nutritional Components of Milk from Zhongdian Yak, Diqing Yellow Cattle and Cattle-Yak

Abstract:

The major nutritional components in milk from Zhongdian yak（ZY），Diqing yellow cattle（DYC） and cattle-yak（CY） were analyzed by CombiFossTM FT+，a combination instrument consisting of the MilkoScanTM FT+ and the FossomaticTM FC for the determination of milk components. These nutritional components were compared with those from Holstein，Simmental and Yunling cattle bred under the same shed conditions. The results indicated that the contents of milk fat，protein，lactose and total solids were 6.24%，4.95%，4.97% and 20.11% for ZY，6.75%，4.52%，4.95% and 19.91% for DCY，and 7.80%，4.60% and 20.85% for CY. The differences of various milk nutrients for ZD，DYC and CY were not significant （P>0.05）. The contents of fat，protein and total solids in ZY，DYC and CY were significantly higher than those from Holstein，Simmental and Yunling cattle （P<0.01）. The lactose content for ZY，DYC and CY，which was comparative with that of Holstein and Simmental （P>0.05），was significantly higher than that of Yunling cattle （P<0.01），and the exact increment was 4.97%，4.98% and 4.95%，respectively. The positive correlations between the contents of protein and fat or total solids，as well as the contents between fat and total solids，were significant （P<0.01）. The milk of ZY，DYC and CY bred under condition of grazing or grazing accompanied with appropriate supplementary feeding is of high nutritional value，which is a nutrient dairy resource of high quality with a promising prospect of developing into high value-added products with plateau characteristic.