Evaluation of oxidative damage in mozzarella cheese produced from bovine or water buffalo milk

Technological processes are the main sources of protein and lipid oxidation in food. The oxidative status was determined in a soft Italian cheese, namely mozzarella, produced from water buffalo or bovine milk. The amount of protein-bound carbonyls, dityrosine and alpha-lactalbumin aggregates were measured to evaluate the extent of protein oxidation. The alpha-tocopherylquinone/alpha-tocopherol ratio and the trolox-equivalent antioxidant capacity were used as redox markers in the fat fraction. The levels of protein-bound carbonyls and alpha-lactalbumin aggregates were found significantly higher in bovine mozzarella than in buffalo mozzarella. On the other hand, higher amounts of redox markers were found in buffalo mozzarella. The levels of dityrosine aggregates were similar in the two types of cheese. The data suggest that protein and fat are more protected against oxidative structure alterations in buffalo mozzarella than in bovine mozzarella.