A Comparative Study on the Physicochemical Parameters of Milk of Camel, Cow and Goat in Somali Regional State, Ethiopia

Abstract

This research was carried out to investigate key physicochemical parameters of milk samples collected from camel, cow and goat in Jigjiga district, Eastern Ethiopia. Sixty fresh milk samples were collected purposively from camels, cows and goats (twenty samples from each species) and analyzed. The results revealed that, cow milk had 6.30 ± 0.15 pH, 0.29 ± 0.04% titratable acidity, 14.6 ± 0.60% total solid, 0.75 ± 0.07% ash, 3.54 ± 0.12% protein, 5.54 ± 0.65% fat and 1.06 ± 0.03 specific gravity. Camel milk had 6.13 ± 0.11 pH, 0.36 ± 0.01% titratable acid, 13.65 ± 1.39% total solid, 0.73 ± 0.03% ash, 3.15 ± 0.15% protein, 3.93 ± 0.15% fat, and 1.03 ± 0.00 specific gravity. Results for goat milk was also recorded as 6.38 ± 0.08 pH, 0.33 ± 0.03% titratable acidity, 14.25 ± 1.16% total solid, 0.73 ± 0.07% ash, 4.62 ± 0.56% protein, 6.79 ± 0.38% fat and 1.04 ± 0.00 specific gravity. It can be concluded that goat milk had higher protein and fat content than cow and camel milk.