ABSTRACT
The stabilizing membrane acts as a reactive barrier of sorts on the interface between the globule and milk serum. The secreted bovine milk lipid consists of a core containing mostly triacylglycerols (TG), a rim of cytoplasm which is usually less than 50 nm thick, but more in human milk. The globules of human milk are often accompanied during secretion by a substantial crescent of cytoplasm. Human milk is cooled, and freeze-thawed for storage prior to analysis or consumption. Bovine milk globules are destabilized by the freeze-thaw procedure, but the effect has not been studied in detail for human milk fat globule (MFG). Natural creaming is the result of differences in density between the globule and milk serum. The data gathered by Ruegg and Blanc includes figures on human colostrum and mature milk, and unprocessed bovine milk. In the table, the number of globules and their surface area decreased as lactation progressed and as the average fat content increased.
