Lipid Oxidation Status, Antioxidant Capacity, and Fatty Acid Profiles of Homemade Butters Produced from Different Milk Species

Butter has long been valued as a dairy product for its nutritional and sensory properties. Its composition and quality vary depending on the milk species and production method. In this context, it is important to investigate the effects of different milk types and traditional home production methods on the quality criteria, antioxidant capacity, and oxidative status of butter. Methods: This study aimed to determine various quality criteria and oxidation stability of traditional homemade butter produced from different types of milk. For this purpose, dry matter, fat, color (L*, a*, and b*), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), free fatty acids, antioxidant capacity, and fatty acid profiles of traditional homemade cow, buffalo, and sheep butter were examined. Sheep butter exhibited numerically higher dry matter (83.68%) and fat (80.50%) contents than cow and buffalo butter, although the differences were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). The free fatty acid content was significantly higher in sheep butter (1.56% as oleic acid) than in cow (0.69%) and buffalo butter (0.57%) (p < 0.01), whereas TBARS values did not differ significantly among the samples (p > 0.05). Buffalo butter exhibited the highest in vitro 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical-scavenging activities (p<0.01). Regarding fatty acid composition, sheep butter had the highest saturated fatty acid (SFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) proportions, whereas buffalo butter had the highest monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) proportion. Overall, it was concluded that butter produced from sheep's milk exhibits differences in fatty acid profile and lipid oxidation compared to butter produced from cow's and buffalo milk. On the other hand, buffalo butter has been observed to stand out with its significantly different and powerful antioxidant capacity. According to the research results, the type of milk has been shown to play an effective role in the quality and oxidation stability of butter.