Nutritional and microbiological characterization of semi-hard Caciotta-type cheese produced in the Khorezm region of Uzbekistan
Аннотация
This study investigated the nutritional composition, microbiological safety, and potential functional properties of semi-hard Caciotta cheese produced from cow milk sourced in the Khorezm region of Uzbekistan, an area affected by moderate to high soil salinity. The research was conducted as a controlled experimental study under standardized cheese-production conditions. Proximate analysis revealed that the cheese contained 48.2% moisture, 24.8% fat, 3.1% ash, and 24.5% crude protein, values typical for semi-hard cheese varieties. Amino acid profiling was performed using high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection (HPLC-DAD) after phenylthiocarbamyl (PTC) derivatization. The total quantified amino acid content was 121.142 mg/g of cheese (approximately 494 mg/g of protein). Lysine (20.0 mg/g), glutamic acid (18.3 mg/g), proline (16.1 mg/g), histidine (12.0 mg/g), and aspartic acid (9.75 mg/g) were the predominant amino acids. Branched-chain amino acids accounted for 8.43 mg/g, while sulfur-containing amino acids reached 9.30 mg/g, indicating important nutritional contributions to protein metabolism and antioxidant-related processes. Microbiological analyses confirmed the absence of coliform bacteria, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., and Staphylococcus aureus, demonstrating compliance with food safety requirements under refrigerated and frozen storage conditions. Additionally, in silico analysis of bovine β-casein peptides using the AnOxPePred platform predicted several peptides with potential antioxidant and ion-chelating properties. Molecular docking analysis suggested moderate interactions under simplified computational conditions and does not represent real cheese systems. Overall, the results demonstrate that Caciotta cheese produced from cow milk in the Khorezm region has high nutritional quality and is microbiologically safe. The study also suggests potential bioactive properties of β-casein-derived peptides; however, these predictions require experimental validation. These findings provide baseline data on a regionally produced dairy product and highlight the need for further comparative studies to better understand the possible influence of environmental factors, such as soil salinity, on milk and cheese composition.