Major whey proteins in ovine and caprine acid wheys from indigenous greek breeds

Acid whey filtrates from the bulk milk of different indigenous greek ovine and caprine breeds were investigated for the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of α-lactalbumin (α-LA) and β-lactoglobulin (β-LG). For comparison reasons acid wheys from bovine milk and from Saanen and Alpine caprine breeds were included. The main characteristic of ovine acid wheys was the low α-LA percentage. The β-LG/α-LA ratio of ovine acid wheys ranged from 3.91 in Chios breed to 6.65 in Boutsiko breed. It was higher than the estimate for bovine acid wheys which ranged from 3.09 to 3.37. The chromatographic and isoelectric focusing profiles of ovine β-LG and α-LA from the different breeds were also variable. The β-LG percentage of caprine acid wheys was lower compared to ovine and bovine acid wheys. Their β-LG/α-LA ratios ranged from 2.02 in Saanen breed to 3.04 in the indigenous breed Skopelos.