Hostname: page-component-7bb8b95d7b-l4ctd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-09-21T06:23:30.512Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Milk Fat Composition and Nutritional Value

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2017

J. J. Murphy
J. J. Murphy*
Affiliation:
Teagasc, Dairy Production Research Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co Cork, Ireland
Get access

Extract

The perception of milk has changed over the past 25 years from one of being the ideal food to one of being detrimental nutritionally, mainly due to the fatty acid composition of its fat component. Now however, it has been discovered that milk contains a number of compounds, which may have positive nutritional benefits. It also appears that the association between saturated fatty acids in milk and effects on cholesterol may have been an oversimplification. It is accepted that the hypercholesterolaemic saturated fatty acids in milk fat are confined to lauric (C12:0), myristic (C14:0) and palmitic acid (C16:0) with the shorter chain saturated fatty acids and stearic acid having no cholesterol raising effect. Indeed bovine milk fat contains two fatty acids which may have important beneficial effects on human health, namely conjugated linoleic acid (cis- 9, trans- 11 linoleic acids – C18:2, CLA) and butyric acid (C4:0). Also monounsaturated fatty acids have been shown to be beneficial in altering the proportions of LDL and HDL cholesterol and it is possible to increase the concentration in milk of the principal monounsaturated fatty acid, oleic acid (C18:1), by optimising the diet of the cow. This paper will discuss nutritional strategies to optimise milk fat composition with particular reference to work from my own Research Centre in relation to oleic acid and CLA.

Type
Invited Theatre Presentations
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science , Volume 2001 , 2001 , pp. 255 - 257
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 2001

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ashes., J. R., St Vincent Welch, P., Gulati, S. K., Scott, T. W. Brown, G. H. and Blakeley, S. 1992. Manipulation of the fatty acid composition of milk by feeding protected canola seeds. Journal of Dairy Science 75: 1090–1096.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dhiman, T. R., Helmink, E. D. McMahon, D. J., Fife, R. L. and Pariza, M. W. 1999 Conjugated linoleic acid content of milk and cheese from cows fed extruded oilseeds. Journal of Dairy Science 82: 412–419.Google Scholar
Dhiman, T. R., Satter, L. D., Pariza, M. W. Galli, M. P. and Albright, K. 1997. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content of milk from cows offered diets rich in linoleic and linolenic acid. Journal of Dairy Science 80(Supplement 1): 184(Abstract).Google Scholar
Donovan, D. C., Schingoethe, D. J., Baer, R. J., Ryali, J., Hippen, A. R. and Franklin, S. T. 2000. Influence of dietary fish oil on conjugated linoleic acid and other fatty acids in milk fat from lactating cows. Journal of Dairy Science 83: 2620–2628.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, M. L., Berry, J. R., Dwyer, D. A., Grinarii, J. M., Chouinard, P. Y., Amburgh, M. E. and Bauman, D. E., Van, 1998. Dietary fatty acid sources affect conjugated linoleic acid concentrations in milk from lactating dairy cows. Journal of Nutrition 128: 881–885.Google Scholar
Mattson, F. H. and Grundy, S. M. 1985. A comparison of effects of dietary saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids on plasma lipids and lipoproteins in man. Journal of Lipid Research 26: 194–202.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Offer, N. W., Marsden, M., Dixon, J., Speake, B. K. and Thacker, F. E. 1999. Effect of dietary fat supplements on levels of n-3 poly-unsaturated fatty acids, trans acids and conjugated linoleic acid in bovine milk. Animal Science 69: 613–625.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Palmquist, D. L., Beaulieu, A. D. and Barbano, D. M. 1993. Feed and animal factors influencing milk fat composition. Journal of Dairy Science 76: 1753–1771.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Parodi, P. W. 1999. Conjugated linoleic acid and other anticarcinogenic agents in bovine milk. Journal of Dairy Science 82: 1339–1349.Google Scholar
Tall, A. R. 1992. Metabolic and genetic control of HDL cholesterol levels. Journal of Internal Medicine 231: 661–668.Google Scholar