Comparison of the milk composition of free-ranging blesbok, black wildebeest and blue wildebeest of the subfamily Alcelaphinae (family: Bovidae)

The proximate composition of milk from free ranging blesbok, black wildebeest and blue wildebeest is reported, with detailed analysis of fatty acid composition and protein identification by electrophoresis. The milk of the blesbok, black- and blue wildebeest contain respectively 5.6 ± 0.3, 4.3 ± 0.7 and 4.1 ± 0.9 g/100 g protein, 8.6 ± 1.1, 5.5 ± 1.5 and 7.5 ± 2.1 g/100 g fat, and 4.9 ± 0.4, 4.1 ± 0.6 and 5.3 ± 1.6 g/100 g lactose, and are comparable with ovine milk. The milk contains high levels of saturated fatty acids, respectively, 82.5 ± 1.7 g/100 g, 75.2 ± 1.5 g/100 g and 88.2 ± 1.8 g/100 g milk fat. The medium carbon chain length saturated fatty acids 8:0, 10:0 and 12:0 occur in the highest amounts recorded so far in ruminant milk, and the 14:0 content is the highest recorded in any milk. This suggests a genetic characteristic of the Alcelaphinae that reflects on the specificity and activity of the thioesterase involved in the fatty acid synthesis. By electrophoresis the κ- and γ-caseins are separated into multiple bands and the α-caseins of the wildebeest into two bands.