Taurine in milk and yoghurt marketed in Italy

Abstract

Taurine, a free amino acid, was studied as natural compound of different typologies of milk: pasteurized, ultra-high temperature (UHT), microfiltered whole and semi-skimmed cow's milk; pasteurized and UHT goat's whole milk and raw buffalo's whole milk. Moreover, taurine contents in yoghurt from cow and goat's milk were evaluated. The data obtained in this research showed that no significant variations of taurine occurred in cow's milk subjected to different technological processes and between whole and semi-skimmed milk. The amount of taurine was less (p < 0.05) in cow's milk (0.60 mg/100 g) than in goat and buffalo's milk (6.55 and 7.32 mg/100 g, respectively). No significant differences in taurine occurred between goat and buffalo's samples. The amounts of taurine in yoghurt reflected, substantially, the content of this molecule in the milk of the relevant animal species. These results are noteworthy because data available in the literature on this molecule in commercial dairy products are old or few.

Keywords::

• Taurine
• cow's milk
• goat's milk
• buffalo's milk
• yoghurt

Acknowledgements

The authors are also grateful to anonymous referees and editor for helpful comments on an earlier draft.

Declaration of interest: This research was financially supported by Ministero delle Politiche Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali (MiPAAF) Project: ‘Qualità Alimentare e Funzionale’ (QUALIFU) (D.M. 2087/7303/09-29/1/2009). The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper. The English is checked by Dr Emma Malinconico (Freelance Writer).