Short communication: Milk fat globule membrane as a potential delivery system for liposoluble nutrients

A soft physical process was used to extract and purified bovine milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) fractions on a pilot scale. Oil-in-water emulsions enriched with α-tocopherol and lycopene were then prepared and stabilized with the extracted MFGM fraction and conventional milk protein concentrates (i.e., whey proteins, caseinate). A protocol of in vitro digestion was set up to evaluate the bioaccessibility of the tocopherol and lycopene in the different emulsions. Bioaccessibility was defined as the capacity of liposoluble compounds to be transferred into mixed micelles formed during the digestion process. Results showed that the accumulation of the tocopherol and lycopene into mixed micelles in MFGM-stabilized emulsions was around 2-fold greater than in emulsions stabilized with conventional milk proteins. This result confirms the potential use of MFGM-enriched ingredients as delivery systems of liposoluble nutrients in food formulations.