3.6. Vitamin E content
The statistical analysis of data shows that month is a highly
significant factor contributing to variation in the vitamin E
content of milk. Maximum amount of vitamin E (0.226 mg/
100 g) was found in the month of June and minimum
(0.041 mg/100 g) was recorded in November (Fig. 6). The
trend of graph representing the variation in vitamin E concentration of milk from all zones clearly depicts the increase
in vitamin E level of milk from all zones starting from April
to August and then from October to February there is a persistent drop off in the vitamin E concentration for all zones.
Feed is the most important and significant factor that produces marked changes in vitamin E concentration in raw
milk. The type of fodder changes along with seasonal variation and it ultimately affects the vitamin contents in milk.
It was reported by Givens et al. (2003) that the concentration
of vitamin E in milk was enhanced by the supplementation of
whole rapeseeds to the diet of Holstein cows. The results recorded for the vitamin E content of milk are in harmony with
the study of Focant et al. (1998), as they reported that the
vitamin E concentration in milk was higher in summer and
lower in winter.