The research work within the project “Investigation of the antimicrobial properties of cow and goat milk in Latvia and Norway” was conducted for two years and was held by Kristīne Majore, Ph.D., assistant professor and researcher at the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Technology of the Latvian University of Biosciences and Technologies (LBTU LPTF). The research was carried in cooperation with partners, knowledgeable and experienced researchers and professors in the dairy industry from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. The project was implemented as part of the Scholarship activity of the European Economic Area and Norway Grants (EEA/NO) Program “Research and Education”.
As part of the project, milk samples were collected for one year from two cow and goat farms. In order to conduct research on antimicrobial properties of milk samples, one of the goals was to expand knowledge and skills by learning new analytical methods. One of them was the comparison of cow and goat milk microbiome by 16S rRNA sequencing. This method was learned by K. Majore in the science laboratory of the University of Norway during her mobility, which took place from September 6 to October 3, 2022. “The obtained results indicated that the most dominant bacteria in cow’s milk are Lactococcus lactis, Lactococcus plantarum and Lactococcus piscium, while in goat’s milk – Lactococcus lactis, Lactococcus laudensis and Macrococcus caseolyticus. It was also possible to apply a microbiological method to determine the antimicrobial properties of milk. This method was rather challenging and E. coli was chosen as the determining bacterium. During the research, in-depth knowledge was gained about the optimal preparation of the environment and the use of the appropriate amount of bacteria, as well as the analysis of the process. The milk samples that were collected during the summer period gave noticeable results,” says K. Major.
The amount of lactoferrin, immunoglobulin and lysozyme was determined in the collected samples by the spectrophotometry method. The results showed that the amount of lysozyme is significantly higher in the warm months of the year and it is more pronounced in goat milk samples. On the other hand, the amount of immunoglobulin and lactoferrin is higher in the coldest months of the year, which was more pronounced for cow’s milk samples. There are several factors that can affect the amount of these substances in milk, as the results indicate it could be – climate, food, keeping conditions, physical activity of the animal and state of health.
Also, the project manager, together with the student of the LPTF doctoral study program, Stefanija Šabuneviča, conducted research on how the antimicrobial properties of milk change during digestion. “The study used an in vitro digestion simulation. The results showed that a small amount of lysozyme was detected after a four-hour digestion simulation. There is a high possibility that milk continues to retain some of its antimicrobial properties after the stomach, entering the intestinal tract,” explains K. Majore.
At the final stage of the project, student S. Šabuneviča went to Norway for mobility, and spent three months there. During this period, the student helped to continue and complete research works, monitored milk samples, learned new detection methods, helped researchers and professors in their daily work. The student has successfully started applying the gained experience in the daily study process, writing the scientific article.
When presenting the results, several nuances and aspects were discussed with the Norwegian cooperation partners, which clearly promoted interest and the desire to continue research. This project has also given new inspiration and knowledge in this industry, admits Kristīne Majore: “I have learned new detection methods using equipment that I had not used before. Cooperation with foreign partners was a great benefit, it gave an understanding of many important things in the field of dairy science, such as methods for determining the composition of milk, analytical equipment and microbiology. At the same time, such international cooperation provided an opportunity to implement each other’s ideas and supplement them, as well as to implement them in own work environment. The work developed in this project gave valuable and interesting results about the antimicrobial properties of milk, providing ideas and perspectives for further research in the future”.
Future projects would aim to conduct in-depth research on how the environment and external factors affect milk quality. The results of such research would be a great contribution to Latvia, providing information on the current situation, as there is relatively little data on it. At the same time, such information would also be useful for dairy processing companies, which may have observed some changes in the dairy processing process.
New financial instruments and project calls will be sought for further in-depth research on milk properties. Thus, Kristīne Majore plans to submit a project in the new postdoctoral research program for 2024 – 2029 with the aim of evaluating the influence of external conditions on the chemical and microbiological composition of milk, as well as physical properties during the processing process. A project with a similar goal is also planned to be submitted in the case of the ERA-NET Cofund call.
In the project “Investigation of the antimicrobial properties of cow and goat milk in Latvia and Norway”, a study of the antimicrobial properties of milk is carried out. The research is carried out within the framework of the support program “Research and Education” of the European Economic Area and Norwegian Grants (EEA/N) program. The total cost of the project was 19,725 euros. Its implementation started on September 1, 2021 and ended on September 1, 2023.
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