Macro- and micromineral composition of milk from purebred Holsteins and four generations of three-breed rotational crossbred cows from Viking Red, Montbéliarde and Holstein sires

Abstract

This study compared the detailed mineral profiles of milk from purebred Holstein (HO) and four generations (F1 to F4) of crossbred cows (CR) derived from a 3-breed rotational crossbreeding system involving Viking Red (VR) and Montbéliarde (MO) sires. Purebred and CR were kept and fed together in the same herd. Individual milk samples were collected once per cow from 120 multiparous cows (40 HO and 20 for each generation of CR from F1 to F4). The milk samples were analysed for macrominerals (Na, Mg, P, S, K, Ca), essential (Cr, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mo), and environmental microminerals (Li, B, Ba) using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. The coefficients of variation ranged from 11 to 28% for macrominerals and from 17 to 40% for microminerals. The mineral composition of milk from purebred HO and CR were mostly comparable. Conversely, it differed in different breed combinations of CR: VR-sired cows had the greatest macromineral contents, MO-sired cows the lowest, while HO-sired CR was intermediate. The milk from MO-sired crossbreds had lower contents of some microminerals (Mo, Zn, and Ba), while the milk from HO-sired crossbreds had greater contents (Fe and Mo). We conclude that the mineral profile of milk of CR derived from different combinations of VR, MO and HO breeds was comparable to that of milk from HO cows kept in the same herd, and that the variations in the macro- and micromineral profiles were greater among CR than between purebreds and crossbreds.Highlights The mineral composition affects the nutritional and technological properties of milk, and it is influenced by breed effect. Macro- and micromineral compositions of milk from Holstein and crossbred cows from a 3-breed rotational crossbreeding system were mostly comparable. Crossbred cows of different generations showed great variations in the macro- and micromineral profiles.