Physicochemical, Microbiological and Technological Properties of Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) Milk during Lactation

This study describes chemical, physical, microbiological and technological characteristics of red deer milk and the effect of lactation on these parameters in order to know their potential aptitude to elaborate dairy products. During 18 weeks, milk from five hinds was monitored for composition, bacteriology, somatic cell count (SCC), physical properties and rennet coagulation. Mean values (g/100 g) for fat, protein, lactose and dry matter were 10.4, 7.1, 4.3 and 24.2, respectively, and for urea, 265 mg/100 mL. Except for lactose, a significant increase in these components was observed (p < 0.01) as lactation progressed. The average values for bacteriology and SCC were 5.3 log cfu/mL and 4.7 log cells/mL, respectively. Regarding physical properties, conductivity (mean: 2.8 ms/cm), viscosity (3.1 Cp), coordinates L* (89.9) and a* (−3.1) and milk fat globule diameter (D4,3: 6.1 µm) increased along with lactation while density (1.038 g/mL) decreased (p < 0.01). The pH (6.7), acidity (22.9° Dornic), coordinate b* (8.4) and ethanol stability (66.6% v/v) were stable during the study period. The stage of lactation also has a significant impact on milk coagulation properties and mean curd yield was 3.29 g/10 mL. These results suggest that red deer milk could be a potential innovative source of milk for the dairy industry.

Conversion of Ethanol Instable Milk to Stable One

Milk ethanol stability is defined as the minimum concentration of added aqueous ethanol giving rise to milk coagulation. The milk, which shows a positive reaction to the alcohol test, is usually graded as second rate and diverted for butter making but not condensed milk. The ions calcium, potassium, and chlorides are mainly responsible for the alcohol instability of milk. As there is no rational method to convert ethanol sensitive-milk to ethanol-insensitive one, we attempted to test and remove this bad quality with two homeopathic remedies, KaliMuririaticum200 andCalcareaPhosphorica12 x. We gave these medicines for seven days to16 cows whose milk was sensitive to 70% alcohol. The results were dramatic and proved the high efficacy of the homeopathic system of medicine, and gave conclusive evidence that ions calcium and chlorides are responsible for milk instability. Kali mur 200(higher potency) removed the detrimental effects of potassium and chlorides and calcarean phos12 x (lower potency) fortified the alcohol stability of milk. Both the remedies acted synergistically.

Noble Metals-Based Catalysts for Hydrogen Production via Bioethanol Reforming in a Fluidized Bed Reactor

In this work, Pt-Ni/CeO2-SiO2, as well as Ru-Ni/CeO2-SiO2 catalysts, were obtained at different loadings of the noble metal (in the interval 0–3 wt%) and tested for oxidative steam reforming of ethanol. Stability performance was evaluated at 500 °C for 25 h under a steam to ethanol ratio of 4 and an oxygen to ethanol ratio of 0.5. The weight hourly space velocity was fixed to 60 h−1, which is considerably higher than the typical values selected for such processes. All the catalysts deactivated with time-on-stream, due to the severe operative conditions selected. However, the highest ethanol conversion (above 95%) and hydrogen yield (30%) at the end of the test were recorded over the 2 wt%Pt-10 wt%Ni/CeO2-SiO2 catalyst, which also displayed a limited carbon formation rate (1.5 × 10−6 gcoke·gcatalyst−1·gcarbon,fed−1·h−1, reduced almost 5 times compared to the samples that had a Pt or Ru content of 0.5 wt%). Thus, the latter catalyst was identified as a promising candidate for future tests under real bioethanol mixture.

Subclinical intramammary infection does not affect bovine milk ethanol stability

The present study hypothesized that intramammary infection (IMI) might reduce milk ethanol stability (MES), mainly when IMI is caused by major pathogens. Thus, this study evaluated the effect of IMI on bovine MES using a natural exposure experimental design. Ninety-four lactating cows from five dairy herds were selected once they were determined to have an IMI, based on milk bacteriological culturing with positive isolation and somatic cell count (SCC) > 200×103 cells/mL in two out of three composite milk samples collected during three consecutive weeks. After selection, cows were sampled a second time (within two weeks) for evaluation at mammary quarter level (n = 326): milk yield (kg/quarter/day), MES, composition (fat, protein, lactose, casein, total solids and solids-non-fat), and bacteriologic culture. The effect of subclinical mastitis on MES was tested by two models: 1) comparison of healthy vs. infected quarters; and 2) comparison of contralateral mammary quarter within cow. The only milk composition variable associated with MES was lactose (r = 0.18; P < 0.01). Subclinical IMI did not affect MES when the comparison was performed using both models (1 and 2). Likewise, MES did not change when infected quarters were sorted into two groups of pathogens (major, minor and infrequent; and contagious, environmental, minor and infrequent) and compared with healthy mammary quarters. Considering the results of both models, subclinical IMI did not affect MES of dairy cows.

Seasonal variation in the composition and processing characteristics of herd milk with varying proportions of milk from spring-calving and autumn-calving cows

The study investigated the seasonal changes in the compositional, physicochemical and processing characteristics of milk from a mixed-herd of spring- and autumn-calving cows during the year 2014–2015. The volume proportion of autumn-calving milk (% of total milk) varied with season, from ~10–20 in Spring (March–May), 5–13 in Summer (June–August), 20–40 in Autumn (September–November) and 50–100 in Winter (December–February). While all characteristics varied somewhat from month to month, variation was inconsistent, showing no significant trend with progression of time (year). Consequently, season did not significantly affect many parameters including concentrations of total protein, casein, whey protein, NPN, total calcium, pH, rennet gelation properties or heat stability characteristics. However, season had a significant effect on the concentrations of total P and serum P, levels of αs1- and β-caseins as proportions of total casein, casein micelle size, zeta potential and ethanol stability. The absence of a significant effect of season for most compositional parameters, rennet gelation and heat-stability characteristics suggest that milk from a mixed-herd of spring- and autumn-calving cows is suitable for the manufacture of cheese and milk powder on a year-round basis, when the volume proportion of autumn milk, as a % of total, is similar to that of the current study.