| Sumario: | The milk fat globule structure is of colloidal nature with a triacylglycerol (TAG) rich core surrounded by the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM), emulsified and dispersed into the aqueous phase. MFGM is a unique trilayer structure, with the inner monolayer stemming from the endoplasmic reticulum and the outer bilayer from the apical cells of the mammary gland. Therefore, as biological membrane, MFGM is a highly complex ensemble of self-associating lipids, mainly phospholipids (PL), into which a diverse array of proteins and other biomolecules are embedded. Although PL constitute a small percentage of the milk total lipids (0.5–2% in cow’s milk), they may represent a substantial part of the total lipids in buttermilk, the aqueous phase released during the elaboration of butter, owing to the presence of significant quantities of MFGM components in this by-product.
|
|---|
