Separation and quantification of water buffalo milk protein fractions and genetic variants by RP-HPLC.

A RP-HPLC method, developed for the separation and quantification of the most common genetic variants of bovine milk proteins, was successfully applied to the analysis of water buffalo milk. All the most common buffalo casein and whey proteins fractions, as well as their genetic variants, were detected and separated simultaneously in 40 min. Purified buffalo proteins were used as calibration standards and a total of 536 individual milk samples were analysed for protein composition. alpha(S1)-, alpha(S2)-, beta gamma-, and kappa-casein were 32.2%, 15.8%, 36.5%, and 15.5%, respectively, of total casein content, whereas content of beta-Lactoglobulin was approximately 1.3 times as high as that of alpha-Lactalbumin. The existence of a polymorphism of kappa-casein was demonstrated in Mediterranean water buffalo and alpha(S1)- and kappa-casein genetic variants were successfully detected by RP-HPLC. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.