Differences on the Fatty Acids and Triglycerides Profile of Conventional VS Ecological Milk from Asturias, Spain

The effect on the fatty acids (FA) and triglycerides (TG) profile of ecological vs conventional cow’s milk from Asturias (northen of Spain) were studied. From all fatty acids analyzed short, medium and long chain fatty acids, only C16:0 (medium chain) and C18:1, C18.2, C18.3 and C18:2 c9t11 (long chain) presented significant differences (p < 0.05). The sum of saturated fatty acids (SFA), unsaturated fatty acids (UFA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and the atherogenicity index (AI) showed differences (p < 0.05). Triglycerides CN40 (medium atom carbon length) and C44, CN46, CN48, CN50, CN52 and CN54 (long atom carbon length) showed diferences (p < 0.05) between ecological vs conventional milk.

Keywords: ecological cow’s farm; conventional cow’s farm; milk fat; fatty acid; triglycerides; gas chromatography.