Concentration of Fluoride in Cow's and Buffalo's Milk in Relation to Varying Levels of Fluoride Concentration in Drinking Water of Mathura City in India- A Pilot Study

Aim: To estimate fluoride concentration in drinking water, cow's milk and buffalo's milk and to correlate the concentration of fluoride in cow's milk and buffalo's milk with varying levels of fluoride concentration in drinking water. Materials and Methods: Ten households having both cows and buffalo's were selected by convenience in each of the 3 zones (below optimum fluoride <0.7 ppm (parts per million), optimum fluoride 0.7-1.2 ppm and above optimum fluoride areas > 1.2 ppm). From these selected households, 200 ml of fresh milk of both cows and buffaloes was collected along with 200 ml of drinking water for estimation of fluoride concentration by using a fluoride ion selective electrode method. The data was analysed using SPSS, version 11.5 for windows. Results: The mean fluoride concentration of drinking water, cow's milk and buffalo's milk in three different fluoride zones was 0.89 +/- 0.39, 0.09 +/- 0.07, 0.09 +/- 0.08 respectively. Pearson's correlation found a statistically significant correlation between fluoride concentrations in cow's and buffalo's milk with varying levels of fluoride concentration in drinking water in zone B and zone C. However, this correlation was not statistically significant in zone A. Conclusion: With an increase in fluoride concentration in drinking water there was an increase in concentration of fluoride in cow's and buffalo's milk. We conclude that this association is seen in conjunction to not only a single factor but rather due to culmination of several other aspects. So, there is a need to elucidate the other factors that might be contributing to this increase and dental fluorosis.