Fatty acid composition of milk from Teteven nativ sheep in mountain region

The study was performed on individual milk samples obtained on the monthly basis during the lactation period from 5 Teteven sheep reared in the Sredna Stara Planina mountain region. The fat extraction of milk samples was done by the Rose-Gottlieb method. Fatty acid composition was determined on a gas chromatograph with flame ionization detector and capillary column. The trends in fatty acid concentrations in sheep milk during the lactation were variable. The proportion of saturated fatty acids in Teteven sheep milk during the lactation was relatively high and varied from 70.34 to 72.19%. Variations in myristic acid concentrations by months were not significant (11.49-11.83%). The total amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the studied milk was relatively low and with similar values for the 4 months spent on pastures (3.78-4.11%). For this period, monounsaturated fatty acids, represented mainly by oleic acid (S18:1) decreased from 25.76 to 24.20%. The short-chain fatty acid concentrations were the highest in milk samples obtained in April and May, of medium-chain ones - in June and July, whereas long-chain fatty acids concentrations were similar over the grazing period.</jats:p