FATTY ACID COMPOSITION DURING LACTATION AND HEALTH IMPORTANCE OF SHEEPS MILK

Abstract

Fatty acid profile data are crucial for the production and promotion of sheep milk and dairy derivatives. Sheep's milk is an interesting and economically interesting product that plays a very important role in the diet of the population. Consumption of sheep's milk is growing due to its nutritional value, but also the variety of products obtained from it. The chemical composition of products of animal origin, especially the content of certain ingredients such as fatty acids, has attracted great attention of experts for years precisely because of their impact on human health. The aim of the study was to determine the fatty acid composition of sheep's milk during the lactation period with reference to the health significance of milk. The study was conducted during the lactation period on a total of 40 pramenka sheep breed in July (I) and August (II). We determined 24 fatty acids in milk. The median values of most saturated fatty acids in milk were lower in the second sampling period (II) compared to the first sampling period, which is in the case of acids C6:0 to C15:0 statistically significant. On the other side, the concentrations of monounsaturated fatty acids were found to be higher in the second, than in the first sampling period, but the difference was statistically significant only for C18: 1 cis-9 acid. The contrary was found for the fatty acid C18: 1 trans-11, whose median value was numerically lower in the second sampling period. There were no significant differences for polyunsaturated fatty acids between the two sampling periods, except for the fatty acid C18: 3n-3, whose median value was significantly lower in the second, compared to the first sampling period. Differences were considered statistically significant at p <0.05, p <0.01, and p <0.001.