NUTRIENTS AND COMPOSITION OF GOAT MILK IN COMPARISON WITH COW AND HUMAN MILK

The composition of goat milk is given in the following table which shows that the goat milk is similar in composition to cow and human milk with few exceptions.

Constituents Goat milk Cow milk Human milk

Total solid %

12.97

12.01

12.50

Energy in Kilocalories

Energy in Kilojoules

69

288

61

257

70

291

Protein %

3.56

3.29

1.03

Lipid %

4.14

3.34

4.38

Carbohydrate %

4.45

4.6

6.89

Ash %

0.82

0.72

0.20

Calcium (mg)

134

119

32

Iron (mg)

0.05

0.05

0.03

Magnesium (mg)

14

13

3

Phosphorous (mg)

111

93

14

Potassium (mg)

204

152

51

Sodium (mg)

50

49

17

Zinc (mg)

0.30

0.38

0.17

Ascorbic acid (mg)

1.29

0.94

5

Thiamine (mcg)

40

40

20

Riboflavin (mg)

0.138

0.162

0.036

Niacin (mg)

0.277

0.084

0.177

Pantothenic acid

0.310

0.314

0.223

Vitamin B6 (mcg)

60

60

10

Folacin (mcg)

1

6

5

Vitamin B12 (mcg)

0.065

0.0357

0.045

Vitamin A (mcg)

44

52

58

Vitamin D (mcg)

0.11

0.03

0.04

Vitamin E (mg)

0.03

0.09

0.34

Vitamin C (mg)

1

1

4

 

Physico-chemical properties of Goat Milk

The specific gravity of goat and cow milk is almost similar in nature (the specific gravity ranges between 1.028 and 1.030). The viscosity of goat milk is 13.4 mP at 27°C, which is marginally lower than cow milk, but the value of refractive index lies in between that of cow and buffalo milk.

The electrical conductivity of goat milk ranges between 0.0101 and 0.0188 ohm-1 cm-1. The titratable acidity expressed as percentage of lactic acid ranges between 0.11 and 0.18, which is again within the range encountered in cow milk.

The mean pH value of goat milk varies from 6.5 to 6.9 whereas it is 6.6 to 6.8 in case of cow milk. The value of curd tension test (which measures the resistance in g which a special multi bladed curd knife encounters in its passage through the coagulated milk) of goat milk is well below than that of cow milk.The average value with pepsin calcium chloride is 36. This is responsible for better digestibility in goat milk as compared to cow milk.