The aim of the project is to ensure Danish-grown organic protein crops of high quality for organic milk production as an alternative to soy, which is about to be phased out. The benefits of lupins are that they are well adapted to sandy soils, need less water and are robust towards soil-borne diseases. However, the more than 30 different alkaloids in lupins can hinder the adoption of lupin. The aim of the project is, on one side to highlight beneficial effects on milk composition by lupins, but also to determine the level of alkaloids in lupine seeds, lupine feed and milk by taking samples from a number of organic dairy farms, where lupins are fed at different levels.
For quantification of the content of alkaloids in lupine feed samples and milk, an analytical method based on mass spectrometry (MS) will be used to determine the toxic quinolizidine alkaloids (QAs) in lupine seed, harvested product before and after treatment and in milk. QA levels in milk will be related to primary factors as well as dairy-relevant processing and fractionation.
The project is aligned with the ongoing research project LupMilk and related collaborations.
The project is aligned to UN's SGD:
