1. Variation in milk fat globule size and composition: A source of bioactives for human health
- Author
-
Caroline Thum, David W. Everett, Warren C. McNabb, and Nicole C. Roy
- Subjects
030309 nutrition & dietetics ,Fractionation ,Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering ,03 medical and health sciences ,Human health ,0404 agricultural biotechnology ,Lactation ,medicine ,Animals ,Humans ,Size fractions ,Food science ,Milk fat globule ,Glycoproteins ,0303 health sciences ,Sheep ,Milk, Human ,Chemistry ,Goats ,Lipid Droplets ,04 agricultural and veterinary sciences ,General Medicine ,Milk Proteins ,040401 food science ,Breed ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Milk fat ,Female ,Cattle ,Composition (visual arts) ,Glycolipids ,Food Science - Abstract
Milk fat globules (MFGs) are secreted from the mammalian gland and are composed of a triacylglycerol core surrounded by a triple membrane structure, the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM). The MFGM contains complex lipids and proteins reported to have nutritional, immunological, neurological and digestive functions. Human and ruminant milk are shown to share a similar MFG structure but with different size, profile and abundance of protein and polar lipids. This review summarizes the reported data on human, bovine, caprine and ovine MFG composition and concentration of bioactive components in different MFG-size fractions. A comprehensive understanding of compositional variations between milk from different species and MFG size fractions may help promote various milk sources as targeted supplements to improve human development and health. MFG size and MFGM composition are species-specific and affected by lactation, diet and breed (or maternal origin). Purification and enrichment methods for some bioactive proteins and lipids present in the MFGM have yet to be established or are not scaled sufficiently to be used to supplement human diets. To overcome this problem, MFG size selection through fractionation or herd selection may provide a convenient way to pre-enrich the MFG fraction with specific protein and lipid components to fulfill human dietary and health requirements.
- Published
- 2021