Milk fat globules in different dairy cattle breeds Part II: relationship to fatty acid composition

Several studies have pointed out that even under similar environmental conditions, fatty acid composition in milk from dairy cattle of different breeds may be not homogeneous (Beaulieu and Palmquist, 2000; Palmquist et al., 1993; Bitman et al., 1995). The higher percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids in Friesian milk, compared to that of Jerseys, may be related to the physical characteristics of fat globules (Timmen and Patton, 1988; Jensen et al., 1991; Scolozzi, 2002). Milk fat globules of heterogeneous dimensions have been described for many years (Walstra, 1969), but it is still uncertain whether a link exists between the morphometric characteristics of fat globules and their chemical composition (Polidori et al., 1995). In this study we proposed to investigate the relationship between milk fatty acid composition and the morphometric characteristics of fat globules.