Composition and Profile of Fatty Acids in Milk on Quality and Health
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71131/w04e1155Abstract
The fatty acid (FA) profile of bovine milk is a dynamic compositional trait that serves as a pivotal determinant of both dairy product quality and human health outcomes. Historically scrutinized for its saturated fat content, contemporary research reveals milk fat as a complex source of diverse lipids, including beneficial trans fatty acids, odd-chain saturated fatty acids, and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). This review synthesizes current knowledge on the composition, key dietary determinants, and dual consequences of the milk FA profile. It demonstrates that ruminant nutrition, particularly pasture-based feeding and lipid supplementation, is the primary lever for modifying this profile, enhancing bioactive components while simultaneously altering the physicochemical properties of the fat. The analysis positions the FA profile as a functional hinge, where improvements in nutritional value such as increased omega-3 FAs and CLA often conflict with technological quality parameters like oxidative stability and texture. A critical reevaluation of health impacts dismantles the simplistic view of milk saturated fats, underscoring the heterogeneous metabolic effects of individual fatty acids and the significance of the whole-food dairy matrix. Ultimately, navigating this hinge necessitates an integrated approach combining tailored animal nutrition, innovative processing, and evidence-based dietary guidance to harness milk fat's full potential. This synthesis provides a foundational resource for developing dairy products that align optimal sensory and functional characteristics with enhanced human health benefits, moving beyond reductionist paradigms towards a holistic understanding of milk fat.
Keywords:
Milk Fatty Acids, Fatty Acid Profile , conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), Dairy Product Quality, Bioactive LipidsDownloads
References
Barrefors, P., Granelli, K., Appelqvist, L. A., & Bjoerck, L. (1995). Chemical characterization of raw milk samples with and without oxidative off-flavor. Journal of Dairy Science, 78(12), 2691–2699. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(95)76900-4
Benjamin, S., & Spener, F. (2009). Conjugated linoleic acids as functional food: an insight into their health benefits. Nutrition & Metabolism, 6(1), 36. https://doi.org/10.1186/1743-7075-6-36
Bremer, J. (1983). Carnitine-metabolism and functions. Physiological Reviews, 63(4), 1420–1480. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.1983.63.4.1420
Castro-Carrera, T., Frutos, P., Leroux, C., Chilliard, Y., Hervás, G., Belenguer, A., & Toral, P. G. (2015). Dietary sunflower oil modulates milk fatty acid composition without major changes in adipose and mammary tissue fatty acid profile or related gene mRNA abundance in sheep. Animal, 9(4), 582–591. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731114002882
Chilliard, Y., Ferlay, A., Rouel, J., & Lamberet, G. (2003). A review of nutritional and physiological factors affecting goat milk lipid synthesis and lipolysis. Journal of Dairy Science, 86(5), 1751–1770. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(03)73761-8
de Oliveira Otto, M. C., Lemaitre, R. N., Song, X., King, I. B., Siscovick, D. S., & Mozaffarian, D. (2018). Serial measures of circulating biomarkers of dairy fat and total and cause-specific mortality in older adults: the Cardiovascular Health Study. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 108(3), 476–484. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqy117
de Oliveira Otto, M. C., Mozaffarian, D., Kromhout, D., Bertoni, A. G., Sibley, C. T., Jacobs, D. R., & Nettleton, J. A. (2012). Dietary intake of saturated fat by food source and incident cardiovascular disease: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 96(2), 397–404. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.112.037770
Dewhurst, R. J., Shingfield, K. J., Lee, M. R., & Scollan, N. D. (2006). Increasing the concentrations of beneficial polyunsaturated fatty acids in milk produced by dairy cows in high-forage systems. Animal Feed Science and Technology, 131(3-4), 168–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2006.04.016
Givens, D. I., & Shingfield, K. J. (2006). Optimising dairy milk fatty acid composition. In Improving the Fat Content of Foods (pp. 252–280). Woodhead Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1533/9781845691073.2.252
Glasser, F., Ferlay, A., & Chilliard, Y. (2008). Oilseed lipid supplements and fatty acid composition of cow milk: a meta-analysis. Journal of Dairy Science, 91(12), 4687–4703. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2008-0987.
Higgins, J. P., & Green, S. (Eds.). (2008). Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Cochrane Collaboration.
Jenkins, T. C., Wallace, R. J., Moate, P. J., & Mosley, E. E. (2008). Board-invited review: Recent advances in biohydrogenation of unsaturated fatty acids within the rumen microbial ecosystem. Journal of Animal Science, 86(2), 397–412. https://doi.org/10.2527/jas.2007-0588.
Jensen, R. G. (2002). The composition of bovine milk lipids: January 1995 to December 2000. Journal of Dairy Science, 85(2), 295–350. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(02)74079-4.
Kaylegian, K. E., & Lindsay, R. C. (1995). Handbook of Milkfat Fractionation Technology and Applications (pp. xxiv+662). AOCS Press. https://doi.org/10.1002/food.19960400316.
Mensink, R. P. (2016). Effects of Saturated Fatty Acids on Serum Lipids and Lipoproteins: A Systematic Review and Regression Analysis. World Health Organization. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/57.5.711s
Mozaffarian, D., Cao, H., King, I. B., Lemaitre, R. N., Song, X., Siscovick, D. S., & Hotamisligil, G. S. (2010). Trans-palmitoleic acid, metabolic risk factors, and new-onset diabetes in US adults: a cohort study. Annals of Internal Medicine, 153(12), 790–799. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-153-12-201012210-00005
Palmquist, D. L., Beaulieu, A. D., & Barbano, D. M. (1993). Feed and animal factors influencing milk fat composition. Journal of Dairy Science, 76(6), 1753–1771. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(93)77508-6
Palmquist, D. L., Lock, A. L., Shingfield, K. J., & Bauman, D. E. (2005). Biosynthesis of conjugated linoleic acid in ruminants and humans. In Advances in Food and Nutrition Research (Vol. 50, pp. 179–217). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1043-4526(05)50006-8
Parodi, P. W. (2004). Milk fat in human nutrition. Australian Journal of Dairy Technology, 59(1), 3.
Ran-Ressler, R. R., Devapatla, S., Lawrence, P., & Brenna, J. T. (2008). Branched chain fatty acids are constituents of the normal healthy newborn gastrointestinal tract. Pediatric Research, 64(6), 605–609. https://doi.org/10.1203/pdr.0b013e318184d2e6
Shingfield, K. J., Bonnet, M., & Scollan, N. D. (2013). Recent developments in altering the fatty acid composition of ruminant-derived foods. Animal, 7(s1), 132–162. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731112001681
Thomas, J., & Harden, A. (2008). Methods for the thematic synthesis of qualitative research in systematic reviews. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 8(1), 45. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-8-45
Thorning, T. K., Bertram, H. C., Bonjour, J.-P., De Groot, L., Dupont, D., Feeney, E., & Givens, I. (2017). Whole dairy matrix or single nutrients in assessment of health effects: current evidence and knowledge gaps. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 105(5), 1033–1045. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.116.151548
Timmen, H., & Patton, S. (1988). Milk fat globules: fatty acid composition, size and in vivo regulation of fat liquidity. Lipids, 23(7), 685–689. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02535669
Toral, P. G., Monahan, F. J., Hervás, G., Frutos, P., & Moloney, A. P. (2018). Modulating ruminal lipid metabolism to improve the fatty acid composition of meat and milk. Challenges and opportunities. Animal, 12(s2), s272–s281. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731118001994
Venn-Watson, S. (2024). C15:0 (Fatty15, Pentadecanoic acid) a fatty acid from grass-fed animals may be essential–several studies. Biochimie, 227(Part B). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15214607
Venn-Watson, S., Lumpkin, R., & Dennis, E. A. (2020). Efficacy of dietary odd-chain saturated fatty acid pentadecanoic acid parallels broad associated health benefits in humans: could it be essential? Scientific Reports, 10(1), 8161. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64960-y