<br/> The conventional approaches to deliver hydrophobic micronutrients and phytochemicals in food systems have used engineered emulsions, liposomes and other lipid based delivery systems including solid lipid nanoparticles. These engineered systems face significant challenges due to (a) requirements to use preservatives and/or metal ion chelators and sacrificial antioxidants to stabilize encapsulated bioactives; (b) emerging evidence that  relatively low concentrations of these emulsifiers, namely carboxymethylcellulose and polysorbate-80, can negatively influence gut health and (c) negative consumer perception. In our quest to address these challenges, we have discovered that naturally present milk fat globules (MFGs) composed of a lipid core surrounded by unique and complex multilayer lipoprotein membrane (MFGM) can effectively encapsulate diversity of exogenous micronutrients such as vitamins A and D and phytochemicals including curcumin and quercetin. The presentation will discuss the role of process conditions in influencing encapsulation efficiency and yield of bioactives in MFGs. Under optimal conditions, the efficiency of this process is high enough that 1 g of milk fat globules can deliver 100% of the recommended daily intake of a vitamin such as Vitamin D, thus enabling efficient use of a naturally occurring resource. The presentation will also discuss the barrier and release properties of MFGs and present data on the role of these properties in reducing degradation of bioactives under acidic and oxidative conditions and release during digestion. In summary, this discovery provides a natural alternative to conventional lipid carriers and has a potential to address many of the key limitations

Milk fat globules: Universal delivery systems for bioactives

2019 Fall National Meeting

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