Influence of stage of lactation on the triacylglycerol composition of buffalo milk fat.

Milk fats obtained from colostrum and early, middle and late lactation samples of buffalo milk were analyzed for their triacylglycerol (TG) compositions. Each milk fat was first separated by thin layer chromatography (TLC) into high, medium and low molecular weight TG. The TG fractions thus obtained were further segregated by argentation TLC, according to their degree of unsaturation into saturated, trans-monoene, cis-monoene, diene and polyene species. With progressive lactation, the major changes from colostral fat were an increase in lower fatty acids and decline in oleic acid. This caused, in turn, marked variations in saturated TG and diene TG and, to a smaller extent, in polyene TG. Monoene TG, both cis and trans, remained practically constant throughout. These trends were largely reversed toward the end of lactation.