TPC results point to a high variability among species and among
members of the same species. Sheep milk had the highest concentration
of TPCs (167.6 ± 58.77 mg GAE/L) compared with milk from
the other species studied in this work, showing a significant difference
(p < 0.05) vs. all of them. Goat milk (69.03 ± 6.23 mg GAE/L) is
not significantly different from human milk (82.45 ± 12.3 mg GAE/
L). Cow milk had the lowest values (49.00 ± 10.77 mg GAE/L), with
a significant difference when compared to human and sheep milk.
These differences may be related with the chemical composition of
milk to satisfy specific needs, with food or with the metabolism of
phenolic compounds in each species. This work shows that milk is
a carrier of phenolic compounds and, therefore, a source of these
for breeding. In fact, it is the only source of phenolic compounds
in the first stage of life. Therefore, it should be assumed that
phenolic compounds from milk have high bioavailability for breeding,
just like other nutrients. These aspects could be the subject of
further research.