A Comparative Study of Lipolytic Bacterial Count (LBC) and Proteolytic Bacterial Count (PBC) Quality of Buffalo and Cow Milk at Different Times

Abstract

This study evaluates the bacterial quality of raw milk from buffaloes and cows collected between January and March 2020 at LNCT University Bhopal (M.P.) focusing on microbial loads and antimicrobial susceptibility of common milk-borne bacteria. Rigorous sanitary measures were employed during milk collection to ensure cleanliness. All sanitary precaution was followed to produce clean milk. Milk samples were collected from three buffaloes and three cows over ten days, with each sampling time (morning, noon, and evening) and evaluated for the lipolytic bacterial count (LBC) (102) and proteolytic bacterial count (PBC) (102) per mililiter. Each animal samples were replicated ten times. Statistical analysis of the collected data revealed significant differences in the mean values of LBC and PBC between species and milking times. Morning samples of raw cow milk exhibited the lowest LBC, while buffalo milk showed comparatively lower PBC across all sampling times. Bacterial counts were highest in noon samples, followed by evening, with morning milk displaying the lowest counts. Notably, coliform bacteria were absent across all samples. These findings suggest that raw cow milk collected during morning milking is of superior microbial quality in terms of LBC, while buffalo milk generally maintains lower PBC levels.