Mare milk is consumed by approximatively 30 million people in the world. In countries in Asia and East Europe, mare milk is mainly consumed as source of fermented products, called koumiss, airag or chigee, alcoholic beverages obtained by means of a culture of bacteria and lactose-fermenting yeasts. Recent research concerning mare milk and its derivatives deals mainly with their potential employment for human health. Studies about the isolation and characterization of Lactobacillus spp. and yeasts from koumiss have been aimed at assessing the potential functional properties of these micro-organisms and to find their employment for the industrial processing of mare milk. The aim of this literature review is to summarize recent research about microorganisms in fermented mare milk products and their potential functional properties.

Aim of this work was to investigate nursing mares milk characteristics at the end of lactation (D) and to make a comparison with milk taken during early lactation (3 to 30 d post partum) (E). The survey was carried out on 17 Italian Saddle mares (IS) (193 days in milk; 147 pregnancy days) and on 12 Haflinger mares (H) (174 days in milk; 146 pregnancy days). N fractions were determined by means of Kjeldahl; fat and lactose by means of mid infrared lectures; mineral elements were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry; P by colorimetry. Data referring to 58 individual milk samples were analyzed by ANCOVA. Significant variations, similar in both breeds, were observed (E vs D) for density at 15°C (1.036 vs 1.034), pH (6.94 vs 7.24), titratable acidity (3.56 vs 1.70 °SH), fat (1.17 vs 0.76% g/100g of milk), crude protein (2.31 vs 1.68% g/100g), casein number (52.37 vs 46.59) and ash (0.50 vs 0.30% g/100g); similarly (mg/100g) for non casein N (172.31 vs 142.05), non protein N (34.43 vs 29.09... RIASSUNTOLo scopo di questo lavoro è stato di studiare le proprietà del latte di cavalle nutrici a fine lattazione (D) e di fare un confronto con il latte prelevato all’inizio della lattazione (3÷30 d post partum) (E) considerando due diverse razze equine. La ricerca è stata effettuata su 17 cavalle di razza Sella Italiano (IS) (193 giorni di lattazione; 147 giorni di gestazione) e 12 cavalle di razza Avelignese (H) (174 giorni di lattazione; 146 giorni di gestazione). Le frazioni azotate sono statedeterminate con il metodo Kjeldahl; grasso e lattosio mediante letture nel medio infrarosso; gli elementi minerali sono stati determinati mediante spettofotometria ad assorbimento atomico; P per colorimetria. I dati, riferiti a 58 campioni di latte individuale, sono stati sottoposti ad analisi statistica (ANCOVA). Sono state osservate variazioni significative (E vs D), simili in entrambe le razze, per densità a 15°C (1,036 vs 1,034), pH (6,94 vs 7,24), acidità titolabile (3,56 vs 1,70 gradi Soxhlet-Henkel), gra...

The milk whey remaining at the end of the cheese-making process is the main by-product of the dairy industries and it is currently used as a source of high added-value compounds by the food and pharmaceutical industries. The aim of this research was to study the effects of the season on the residual whey characteristics in the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese-making process. Over two years, a total of 288 cheese-making trials of Parmigiano Reggiano PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) cheese were performed in three commercial cheese factories and, in each trial, a sample of the vat milk (V-milk) and of the residual whey (C-whey) were collected. The C-whey values of dry matter and non-fat matter were higher in winter and autumn than in spring and summer. Moreover, the C-whey fat and crude protein contents were also higher in autumn (0.52 and 0.89 g/100 g, respectively) and lower in spring (0.44 and 0.83 g/100 g, respectively) and summer (0.46 and 0.84 g/100 g, respectively). Furthermore, crude whey protein resulted to be the major fraction of crude protein (97.96%). Crude whey protein and true whey protein were higher in autumn and lower in spring and summer and their values mainly depended on milk whey protein. Finally, the C-whey average contents of phosphorus and magnesium were higher in autumn and winter than in summer.

Kinematics of gaits in Bardigiano horses

This research was aimed to assess the distribution of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium within the casein micelles of yak milk. To this aim, nine bulk yak milk samples (Y-milk), collected in three yak farms located in the Chinese province of Qinghai, were compared to nine bulk cow milk samples used as a reference. A quite similar content of colloidal calcium (0.80 vs. 0.77 mmol/g of casein; p > 0.05), a higher content of magnesium (0.05 vs. 0.04 mmol/g of casein; p ≤ 0.01) and a lower content of colloidal phosphorus (0.48 vs. 0.56 mmol/g of casein; p ≤ 0.01) between yak and cow casein micelles were found. Moreover, the yak casein micelles showed a lower value of prosthetic phosphorus (0.20 vs. 0.26 mmol/g of casein; p ≤ 0.05) compared to the cow micelles. The lower values of colloidal and prosthetic phosphorus in yak casein micelles suggest that the yak casein is less phosphorylated than the cow one.