Distribution and fatty acid content of phospholipids from bovine milk and bovine milk fat globule membranes

The phospholipid (PL) content was determined comparatively in the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) and whole milk including their fatty acid profiles. The possible role of milk PLs in defence against pathogens was also addressed. The MFGM and whole milk showed a similar distribution of PL species; however, the fatty acid contents of the PL species were different. Total PL from MFGM showed a decrease in C18:0 content in parallel with an increase in C18:1 and C18:2 and very long-chain fatty acid (more than C20) content. No significant differences in the fatty acid content of phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin from either source were found. However, the phosphatidylethanolamine from MFGM had more C18:1 and C18:2 and less C14:0 and C16:0 than that from whole milk. A similar but less pronounced result was found for phosphatidylserine/phosphatidylinositol. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli strains failed to bind to PL, which had been previously separated by high-performance thin-layer chromatography.