Overview: Milk Lipids

Abstract

Because the fats in milk are the major source of energy for the infant, and the majority of milk lipids are fats, early research on milk lipids focused on the composition of these fats, their digestion, absorption, transport, metabolic fate, and the regulation of their metabolism. A more recent focus has been on milk lipids that are present in relatively low amounts but potentially have important biological functions. As lipid synthesis in the mammary epithelial cell, its packaging, and its transport and secretion into the milk as milk fat globules become better understood, a second area of research on lipid-associated molecules has developed; studies of the nonlipid molecules intimately associated with these processes have revealed that some may have important biological activity.