Comparison of Canestrato Pugliese cheese quality between native and non-native sheep breeds

Local breeds represent an important resource for a sustainable pastoral system in Mediterranean areas. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of native and non-native sheep breeds on gross composition, fatty acid (FA) profile, health promoting index (HPI), thrombogenic index (TI) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) of Canestrato Pugliese cheese two months ripened. The experiment was carried out at the experimental farm of CRA-ZOE (Southern Italy) in spring. A flock set up of two native endangered breeds, Altamurana (A) and Leccese (L), and one non-native breed, Sarda (S), was used. All animals were fed on native pasture supplemented with concentrate at each milking. For each breed, three cheese-makings of Canestrato Pugliese were carried out for three consecutive days following the traditional technology. Cheeses were ripened for two months in a natural cave. All analyses were performed in duplicate. On cheese samples, gross composition was measured according to FIL-IDF standard procedures, FA profile was determined by gas chromatography and VOC profile and content by GC-MS analysis. The results were analysed by one-way ANOVA procedure with genotype (A, L and S) as the main factor. Means were computed by Fisher’s LSD test. Cheese gross composition, nutritional indexes, FA and VOC profile were affected by breed (P≤0.05). L and S cheeses were characterized by higher dry matter content than A cheese (69.4 and 71.8 vs. 63% respectively; P≤0.05) due to their fat content (35.3 and 35.8 vs. 29.3%; P≤0.05), despite milk fat percentage was not significantly different among breeds. A and L cheeses exhibited significantly higher HPI (0.50 and 0.51 vs. 0.40; P≤0.01) and lower TI (2.64 vs. 3; P≤0.01) values than S cheese, due to their higher unsaturated FA (26.21 and 25.61 vs. 24.19 g/100 g FA; P≤0.05) and lower saturated FA (73.78 and 73.39 vs. 75.80 g/100 g FA; P≤0.01) contents. The class of n-3 FA was higher in A and S cheeses than L cheese (0.88, 0.73 vs. 0.69 g/100 g FA; P≤0.05). No significant differences in conjugated linoleic acid content were found. A and L cheeses showed higher total VOC content than nonnative S breed (1,852 and 2,297 vs. 1,452 arbitrary unit; P≤0.05). Cheeses obtained from both native breeds were characterized by some peculiarities that are considered beneficial for human health. The results indicated that native sheep breeds had potentiality for adding value to cheese products for sustainable use.