Determination of Lactoferrin in Goat Milk by HPLC Method

The aim of this study was the determination of lactoferrin in goat milk using HPLC method. Milk samples were collected at a goat farm in the South Moravia Region, the Czech Republic. It were established bulk tank samples of raw milk (n = 24) and pasteurised milk (n = 27) that were collected during lactation. Lactoferrin contents were analysed by reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) with diode-array detector PDA 2996. Detection was carried out at the wavelength 205 nm. The average concentration of lactoferrin in goat milk was 120 +/- 18 mu g/ml. The lactoferrin content was increasing within the lactation period in the ranges of 98 +/- 170 mu g/ml in April to 149 +/- 19 mu g/ml in November. The heat treatment (pasteurisation at 72 degrees C for 20 s) resulted in no significant effect on the lactoferrin content. No statistically significant differences (P = 0.05) were found between the values of raw and pasteurised goat milk.