Studio sulla variabilità di composti bioattivi in latte e formaggi prodotti in Sardegna

The bioactive compound y-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and biogenic amines, together with protein-free amino acids, were measured by HPLC in ewe’s milk chesees produced in Sardinia. The study included three types of cheese: Pecorino Sardo DOP, Pecorino and Casu Marzu. Farmhouse Casu Marzu and Pecorino showed y-aminobutyric acid content that had never been found so high in cheese till now, suggesting that these types of cheese present ideal conditions to produce GABA. These two types of cheese also showed high levels of biogenic amines. Pearson’s correlation analysis observed a significant correlation between GABA and the main biogenic amines present in the cheeses suggesting that the factors affecting the production of Gaba are the same as those influencing biogenic amine formation. The bioactive taurine compound has been determined by HPLC in the milk of the Sardinian and Maltese goat. The milk came from two farm animals in order to evaluate the variability of this compound in relation to the content in somatic cells, parameter which indicates a mammary infection. Other aspects such as the race, the farm animal conditions and the lactation phase have also been considered. Through univariate statistical analysis (ANOVA and Tukey’s test) and also multivariate statistical analysis (Hyerarchical cluster analysis), the presence of sample groupswhere the taurine content decreases as the somatic cells increase and the daily production of milk decreases has been evaluated.