Orotic acid content in cow`s, ewe`s and goat`s milk

The ewe’s milk is much lauded for its high orotic acid content. This is sought after as a miracle cure and a universal drug. Although reliable data on this subject can not be found in the scientific literature, the myth of ewe’s milk particularly rich in orotic acid still persists. For this reason, the Agroscope Liebefeld-Posieux research station ALP has analyzed and compared the orotic acid contents of cow’s, goat’s and ewe’s milk. The determination of orotic acid is carried out by UV detection after separation of the organic acids by means of HPLC. Cow’s milk contains the highest levels of orotic acid followed by ewe’s milk which contains slightly more than goat’s milk. Seasonal fluctuations were noted: in autumn (September), the orotic acid content is higher than in spring (March) or summer (June). No winter samples were analyzed. The values for cow’s, ewe’s and goat’s milk were 6,63, 1,53, 1,08 mg/100 g respectively in March and in the same order of magnitude at 6,33, 1,77, 1,27 mg/100 g in June. Higher concentrations were found in the three types of milk in September (7,55, 3,22 and 2,48 g/100 g).