Abstract
This study was planned to determine the effect of mastitis on the mineral contents of buffalo milk. For this
purpose, 150 buffaloes were selected randomly having same stage of lactation (third to fourth month post calving)
and parity (second to third), from District Jhang, Pakistan. The severity of mastitis was graded as mild, moderate
and high by Surf Field Mastitis Test. The milk samples were subjected to wet digestion to determine the levels of
mineral contents. The results showed that sodium level increased in mastitic milk from 38.92 ± 0.20 to 46.60 ±
0.26 mg/100 ml. However, a reduction from 23.08 ± 0.56 to 13.62 ± 1.33; 49.45 ± 0.62 to 37.80 ± 0.50; 15.78 ±
0.27 to 14.41 ± 0.18; and 21.20 ± 0.39 to20.02 ± 0.77 mg/100 ml in potassium, calcium, magnesium and
manganese was found due to mastitis. A similar trend was noticed for iron, zinc, and copper, which showed a
decrease from 22.06 ± 0.36 to 18.87 ± 0.27;43.24 ± 1.02 to 37.10 ± 1.22 and 13.18 ± 0.38 to 9.07 ± 0.22
mg/100ml, respectively. The results of this study demonstrated that mastitis had a major impact on the minerals
contents in milk which can affect quality of milk.
