Determination of lactoferrin in goat milk by HPLC method

Abstract

The aim of this study was the determination of lactoferrin in goat milk using HPLC method. Milk samples were collected at a goat farm in the South Moravia Region, the Czech Republic. It were established bulk tank samples of raw milk (n = 24) and pasteurised milk (n = 27) that were collected during lactation. Lactoferrin contents were analysed by reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) with diode-array detector PDA 2996. Detection was carried out at the wavelength 205 nm. The average concentration of lactoferrin in goat milk was 120 ± 18 μg/ml. The lactoferrin content was increasing within the lactation period in the ranges of 98 ± 170 μg/ml in April to 149 ± 19 μg/ml in November. The heat treatment (pasteurisation at 72°C for 20 s) resulted in no significant effect on the lactoferrin content. No statistically significant differences (P = 0.05) were found between the values of raw and pasteurised goat milk.