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Review
. 2021 Dec 8;79(Suppl 2):48-69.
doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuab099.

Bioactives in bovine milk: chemistry, technology, and applications

Tiantian Lin  1 , Gopinathan Meletharayil  2 , Rohit Kapoor  2 , Alireza Abbaspourrad  1
Affiliations
Review

Bioactives in bovine milk: chemistry, technology, and applications

Tiantian Lin et al. Nutr Rev. .

Abstract

The significance of dairy in human health and nutrition is gaining significant momentum as consumers continue to desire wholesome, nutritious foods to fulfill their health and wellness needs. Bovine milk not only consists of all the essential nutrients required for growth and development, it also provides a broad range of bioactive components that play an important role in managing human homeostasis and immune function. In recent years, milk bioactives, including α-lactalbumin, lactoferrin, glycomacropeptide, milk fat globule membrane, and milk oligosaccharides, have been intensively studied because of their unique bioactivity and functionality. Challenges for the application of these bioactive components in food and pharmaceutical formulations are associated with their isolation and purification on an industrial scale and also with their physical and chemical instability during processing, storage, and digestion. These challenges can be overcome by advanced separation techniques and sophisticated nano- or micro-encapsulation technologies. Current knowledge about the chemistry, separation, and encapsulation technology of major bioactives derived from bovine milk and their application in the food industry is reviewed here.

Keywords: bioactive components; bovine milk; encapsulation; glycomacropeptide; lactoferrin; milk fat globule membrane; milk oligosaccharides; separation; α-lactalbumin.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Scheme of the main membrane processed applied in the separation of milk components. MF, microfiltration; NF, nanofiltration; RO, reverse osmosis; UF, ultrafiltration. (Reproduced with permission from Elsevier Ltd.)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Scheme of gel filtration applied in the separation of molecules of different sizes. (Reproduced with permission from Elsevier Ltd.)
Figure 3
Figure 3
Scheme of ion-exchange chromatography applied in the separation of molecules of different charges. (Reproduced with permission from Elsevier Ltd.)
Figure 4
Figure 4
Morphology types of  microcapsules. (Reproduced with permission from Springer with slight modifications)
Figure 5
Figure 5
Category proportions of (A) α-lactalbumin–enriched and (B) lactoferrin-enriched products from 2016 to 2020. Based on Mintel Data
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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