A novel approach for the reconstitution of bovine milk fat globules with different-melting-temperature triacylglycerol cores

Reconstructing milk fat globules (MFG) with different-melting-temperature triacylglycerols (TAG) to improve its nutritional and functional properties has great potential for expanding industrial applications. Butterfat was fractionated by stepwise crystallization at 30, 20 and 15 degrees C to yield six fractions (30S, 30L, 20S, 20L, 15S and 15L). Fractions were analyzed for thermal properties and fatty acid composition. An efficient method for analyzing TAG was established using HPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS combined with principal component analysis, and total 146 TAGs in butterfat and its fractions were identified. The melting enthalpy, melting temperature, and long-chain saturated TAG content of 30S fraction were 71.5 J/g, 42.1 degrees C, and 19.3%, respectively, while that of 15L fraction corresponded to 11.9 J/g, 17.1 degrees C and 0.1%, indicating that the butterfat was effectively separated. Then MFG were reconstituted with milk fat globule membrane and different-melting-temperature TAG cores from obtained fractions, and reconstituted MFG gave excellent microstructural stability and emulsifying activity.

Automated summary

By fractionating and analyzing TAG with different melting points, the study successfully reconstructed milk fat globules with excellent microstructural stability and emulsifying activity.