Research Advances in Structural Properties and Metabolism of Milk Fat Globule Membrane

Abstract

Breast milk is the safest and most perfect natural food for infant growth and development. As one of the most important components in breast milk, the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) is a 3-layer membrane structure surrounding milk fat globules (MFG). This unique structure not only maintains the stability of milk but also plays an important role in the digestive and metabolic processes of infants. In this article, we introduce the reader to the composition and structural specificity of MFGM, review the sequential digestion of MFGM depending on several enzymes in the mouth, stomach and intestine of healthy infants, and elaborate on the interaction mechanism between MFGM and various enzymes, in order to provide a reference for relevant studies.

Keywords

• milk fat globule membrane; composition; structure; infant; enzyme; metabolism