Characterization of the milk oligosaccharide spectrum in water buffaloes during early lactation

Water buffaloes play an important role in dairy industry. However, in contrast to the distribution of bioactive molecules in milk from dairy cows, there are only a few studies available for bioactive components in water buffalo milk. This also includes the structure and distribution of milk oligosaccharides (MOs) during lactation. Since MOs support numerous beneficial processes in the offspring, we characterized in detail the structure and distribution of MOs in water buffaloes during lactation. To this end, we analyzed the MOs of colostrum, transitional and mature milk by HPLC and LC-MS applications. In colostrum, 55 sialylated MOs were present and 72 % of the total amount of sialic acids in milk was bound to MOs. Most of these sialylated MOs decreased during transition phase. Besides sialylated MOs, 33 neutral MOs were detected including fucosylated structures. As observed for the sialylated MOs also the amount of fucosylated structures decreased during lactation. In sum, we observed a higher structural diversity of bioactive MOs in water buffalo milk in comparison to Holstein-Friesian. Based on the results, the milk of water buffaloes might be an advantageous alternative for bovine milk, when considered for the production of infant formula and nutraceutical food supplements.