Minerals And Trace Elements Composition Of Raw Cow’s Milk In Peninsular Malaysia

Norakmar I., Faridah F.I., Marni S., Khairunnisak M., Ketty G.S.L., Ernah G., Roosnoor Farkhan H., Izwan I., Kamaliah G., Falizah A. Chandrawathani P. and Saipul Bahari A.R.

This study was conducted on raw cow?s milk collected in seven states of Malaysia to investigate the composition of minerals and trace elements in the milk. Raw cow?s milk samples were collected from Kedah, Perak, Johor, Melaka, Pahang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan from January to November 2015. ICP-MS technique combined with microwave digestion were applied to determine the concentration of five major minerals (Na, Mg, K, Ca and P) and eleven trace elements (Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se, Sr, Mo,Ba and Pb) in the milk samples. The result of analysis showed relatively constant composition of minerals and trace elements in the samples but some variations were observed in certain states. Application of principal component analysis (PCA) in the composition data showed different cluster exists between the states of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan as well as Kedah and Negeri Sembilan. There is no significant difference observed in the compositions of minerals and trace elements between other states. The compositions of minerals and trace elements in raw cow?s milk in Malaysia are comparable with reports from other research. Further studies can be done to investigate the source of nutrient, food or environmental condition that produced the amounts of minerals and trace elements in the milk.