Milk Fat Globule Membrane Composition and Dietary Change: Supplements of Coconut Oil Fed in Two Physical Forms

Abstract

Milk fat globule membrane composition was compared in two diets, E and F. Both contained coconut oil supplement emulsified with casein, but in diet F the supplement had been treated with formaldehyde. More membrane was secreted in diet E, and it contained a greater proportion of neutral lipid and a lower proportion of protein than diet F. No difference in neutral lipid fatty acid composition of membrane was observed between diets E and F. The amounts of coconut oil fatty acids in membrane neutral lipids were higher in diets E and F than in a ration containing no coconut oil. Individual phospholipids were unaffected by diet, and no incorporation of the supplemented lipid into membrane polar lipids occurred. Proportions of major membrane proteins changed as shown by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.