Comparative evaluation of fatty acid profiles and lipid nutritional indexes in Egyptian fresh cow, buffalo, goat soft cheeses and their mixtures

Ibrahim, Aml Sayed; Zahran, Hamdy; Awaad, Shimaa Salah; Hegab, Ola W.

doi:10.21608/ejchem.2023.206528.7879

Comparative evaluation of fatty acid profiles and lipid nutritional indexes in Egyptian fresh cow, buffalo, goat soft cheeses and their mixtures

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Food Hygiene and Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University

² Fats and Oils Dept., Food Industries and Nutrition Division, National Research Centre

³ Food Hygiene and Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University

10.21608/ejchem.2023.206528.7879

Abstract

Fresh white soft cheese is considered a prime dish in Egyptians' daily diet. However, recent inquiries focused on the relation between full-fat cheeses and heart diseases. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate white soft cheeses manufactured from various milk species, focusing on the fatty acid profile of their lipid content and their health indicators. Results revealed that goat’s milk and cow-goat mix cheeses were significantly different compared to other examined cheese samples, with higher saturated fatty acids (SFAs%) and lower mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs%) in a percentage of 73.80-75.19 and 23.04-20.92, respectively. Moreover, they are also characterized by a high proportion of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs, 9.31-10.42%), and medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs, 29.62-31.61%) but low content of long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs, 59.07-59.95%). Palmitic acid was the dominant fatty acid in all evaluated cheeses, ranging from (26.48-32.02%) followed by oleic acid (15.42–24.15%). The best values for conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), P/S (Poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)/SFAs), and n6/n3 (omega6/omega3) were obtained from buffalo’s cheese. The desirable hypo-cholesterolemic fatty acids (DFAs) were higher in cheeses made from cow’s, buffalo’s milk, and their mixtures. This study concluded that the FA composition and lipid health indices of cheese are mainly affected by the species of milk used. In addition, buffalo cheeses sold in Egypt had superior nutritional lipid quality indices.

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