Effect of milk fat and its main fatty acids on oxidation and glycation level of milk

J Food Sci Technol. 2023 Feb;60(2):720-731. doi: 10.1007/s13197-022-05658-z. Epub 2022 Dec 26.

Abstract

Milk is a highly nutritional food rich in protein and fat that is prone to deterioration by oxidation and glycation reactions at storage and processing. In this study, glycation products and lipid oxidation products contents in skim milk, whole milk, and milk fat simulation groups were determined to evaluate the effect of milk fat components on glycation at 120 °C for 60 min. The increase rate of carbonyl compound, main advanced glycation end products (AGEs) levels, and glycation sites number of α-casein and β-casein are higher in whole milk than that in skim milk, indicating that milk fat promoted protein glycation significantly. In milk fat simulation groups, oleic acid and linoleic acid (LA) were added to milk fat in skim milk proportionally, promoting the formation of glycation products; however, palmitic acid had no such effect. LA exhibited strong promotion on AGEs formation. Lipid oxidation radicals, protein carbonyl amine condensation, and carbonyl compound formation were critical factors for milk glycation, according to OPLS-DA results. Therefore, radicals of fat oxidation are speculated to trigger the early glycation, and carbonyl compounds of fat oxidation act as important intermediates of glycation, fat type, form, and its degradation rate, thus play essential roles in milk glycation.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-022-05658-z.

Keywords: Glycation products; Glycation sites; Lipid oxidation; Maillard reaction; Milk fatty acids; OPLS-DA.