Milk from Halari Donkey Breed: Nutritional Analysis, Vitamins, Minerals, and Amino Acids Profiling
Renu Garhwal,
Anuradha Bhardwaj,
Karnam Sangwan,
Rahul Mehra,
Yash Pal,
Varij Nayan,
Mir Asif Iquebal,
Sarika Jaiswal,
Harish Kumar
Affiliations
Renu Garhwal
Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Rajasthan, Jaipur 303002, India
Anuradha Bhardwaj
Indian Council of Agricultural Research—National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar 125001, India
Karnam Sangwan
Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Rajasthan, Jaipur 303002, India
Rahul Mehra
Food Science & Technology MMICT & BM(HM), Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to Be University), Mullana, Ambala 133203, India
Yash Pal
Indian Council of Agricultural Research—National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar 125001, India
Varij Nayan
Indian Council of Agricultural Research—Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes, Hisar 125001, India
Mir Asif Iquebal
Division of Agricultural Bioinformatics, Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, New Delhi 110012, India
Sarika Jaiswal
Division of Agricultural Bioinformatics, Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, New Delhi 110012, India
Harish Kumar
Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Rajasthan, Jaipur 303002, India
This current research set out to characterize Halari donkey milk by investigating its nutritional constituents, including its proximate analysis, water activity, titratable acidity, energy, and microbiological analysis. A comprehensive profiling of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids was also carried out. It was found that the composition of Halari donkey milk was consistent with previously published donkey milk literature and was comparable to that of human milk. Halari donkey milk has low 0.86 ± 0.04% fat content, 2.03 ± 0.03% protein content, 0.51 ± 0.05% ash content, and high 5.75 ± 0.15% lactose content making it sweet and palatable. The energy content of Halari donkey milk was 40.39 ± 0.31 kcal/100 g, and the water activity ranged from 0.973 to 0.975. Titratable acidity was 0.03 ± 0.01%. Halari donkey milk can be considered acceptable and microbiologically safe, having low total plate count and yeast and mould counts. Mineral testing revealed that Halari donkey milk included significant amounts of magnesium, sodium, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and zinc. The concentration of different vitamins and amino acids such as isoleucine and valine also contribute to the nutritional value of Halari donkey milk.
