Milk fat globules by confocal Raman microscopy: Differences in human, bovine and caprine milk

• Composition changes of milk fat globules were fast explored by Raman microscopy.
• Milk fat globules in bovine, goat, human colostrum and mature milk were explored.
• Raw milk, pasteurized milk, homogenized milk and spray-dried milk were explored.

Infant formulas are usually based on bovine milk and caprine milk. Pasteurization, homogenization and spray-drying are basic processes for the production of infant formulas. In this study, confocal Raman spectroscopy had been used to rapidly determine the differences between human, bovine and caprine milk fat globules (MFGs). The unsaturated fatty acids in human colostrum and mature MFGs were over 2 times more than in bovine and caprine MFGs. The phospholipid bands at 860 cm− 1 of human colostrum MFGs were 5 times more than human mature, bovine and caprine MFGs. The carotenoid content varied according to the species of milk, with human MFGs containing more carotenoids than bovine and caprine MFGs. And the cholesterol content was not correlated with the size of the MFGs. Human MFGs were more mobile than bovine and caprine MFGs. The lipid composition and mobility of MFGs were underwent significant changes under different processing conditions. These results laid the foundations for the improvement and development of powdered milk formulas.