Supramolecular structures of milk: structure and nutritional impact of the casein micelle and the milk fat globule

Abstract

The variety of specific molecules that exist in milk as supramolecular structures, such as casein micelles and fat globules, make this extraordinarily complex and physically stable biological fluid system, able to vectorize bioactive compounds both in the protein and the lipid fractions. Progress made on both the composition and the structural organisation of these structures, although there are still shadowy areas, show that this organisation is not without significance on the effect they have on the organism. The presence in milk of nanovesicles secreted by the mammary epithelial cell (lactosomes) and capable of transmitting molecular information to other cells or organisms is, in this regard, a new exciting field of investigation.