Advancements in obtaining and utilizing bovine milk proteins in foods and nutrition

Abstract

Bovine milk is a very important functional food for humans of all ages. It contains functional proteins and lipids of both technological and physiological importance in addition to vitamins and minerals indispensable for human health and development. Modern membrane filtration techniques such as microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), reverse osmosis (RO), column chromatography (ion exchange, molecular exclusion), and a number of modalities of electrophoresis, permit the fractionation and purification of the most important bioactive proteins associated with caseins, milk whey proteins, and the proteins from milk globules membranes. A variety of bioactivities are performed by milk proteins in the original (integral) structures; other properties depend on the release of bioactive peptides during normal digestion or those that are controlled in vitro enzymatic hydrolysis. Isolation of these milk bioactive compounds will permit formulation of novel functional foods and supplements capable of enriching the traditional human diet.