COMPARATIVE COMPOSITIONAL, AMINO ACID AND ANTIOXIDANT PROFILING OF GOAT AND SHEEP MILK: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUNCTIONAL MILK LOLLIES

Abstract

Goat and sheep milk are relatively underutilized dairy resources with distinct compositional characteristics that offer potential for the development of value-added frozen dairy products. This study compared the proximate composition, in vitro antioxidant activity and amino acid profiles of goat and sheep milk to establish their suitability for milk-lolly formulation. Sheep milk contained significantly (p < 0.05) higher fat (6.63 %), total solids (17.37 %), protein (4.57 %) and lactose (5.43 %) than goat milk (3.71 %, 12.35 %, 3.67 % and 4.36 %, respectively). ABTS radical-scavenging activity did not differ significantly between sheep and goat milk (12.14 % and 12.22 %, respectively), whereas sheep milk exhibited significantly higher DPPH radical-scavenging activity (21.12 %) than goat milk (14.60 %). Amino acid profiling revealed species-dependent differences in its distribution, with goat milk characterized by higher relative proportions of glutamic acid, valine and aspartic acid, whereas sheep milk contained higher relative abundances of glutamic acid, leucine, lysine and aspartic acid. The calculated relative proportions of essential amino acids and branched-chain amino acids were significantly higher in sheep milk (50.75% and 25.64%, respectively) than in goat milk (37.08% and 21.35%, respectively). These findings demonstrate that sheep milk provides a more concentrated nutrient with enhanced essential amino acid distribution and antioxidant activity, whereas goat milk offers a lower-fat alternative with comparable ABTS activity and a distinctive amino acid profile. The results provide a scientific basis for species-specific formulation of non-bovine milk lollies and other frozen dairy products.