Trans fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid in the buffalo milk

The fatty acid content in milk samples, obtained from buffaloes of the Bulgarian Murrah breed reared in a buffalo farm in the Agricultural Institute - Shumen was investigated. Milk samples were obtained from the morning and evening milking. The determination of fatty acids was done with a combination of gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. It was found out that from the saturated fatty acids in buffalo milk, the highest amount was that of palmitic acid (29.39%), followed by myristic (11.28%) and stearic (10.58%) acids. Out of unsaturated fatty acids, the oleic acid (C18:1 cis-9) predominated with 18.79%, and the total sum of its trans isomers was 1.75%. The buffalo milk fat was with relatively little content of conjugated linoleic acid 0.38%, with concentration of the biologically active isomer C18:2 cis-9, trans-11 of 0.29%. The total amount of saturated fatty acids in the studied buffalo milk was 72.15%, of monounsaturated - 24.70%, and of polyunsaturated - 3.15%.