Journal of Food and Nutrition Research, 2016, Vol. 4, No. 5, 296-302 Available online at http://pubs.sciepub.com/jfnr/4/5/5 © Science and Education Publishing DOI:10.12691/jfnr-4-5-5 Effect of Pasteurization, Freeze-drying and Spray Drying on the Fat Globule and Lipid Profile of Human Milk A. Cavazos-Garduño 1 , J.C. Serrano-Niño 1 , J.R. Solís-Pacheco 1 , J.A Gutierrez-Padilla 2 , O. González-Reynoso 1 , H.S. García 2 , B.R. Aguilar-Uscanga 1,* 1 Centro Universitario de Ciencias Exactas e Ingenierías, Universidad de Guadalajara, Boulevard Marcelino García Barragán 1421, 44420. Guadalajara, Jalisco. México 2 UNIDA, Instituto Tecnológico de Veracruz, Calz. Miguel Angel de Quevedo 2779, 91897, Veracruz, Ver., México *Corresponding author: agublanca@gmail.com Abstract Human milk is the ideal food to nourish newborn babies; it contains important nutrients: proteins, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals, which are needed to provide agood health to the infants. Milk fat provides about 50% of energy to infants and its fatty acids are essential for brain and retina development. Therefore, analysis of the lipid fraction of human milk is an important task, especially when this milk is processed. The objective of this research was to study the effect of pasteurization, freeze-drying and spray drying on some characteristics of human milk fat. The fatty acid profile was analyzed by HPLC and gas chromatography. Fat content, globule size and distribution were measured. The HPLC method for the analysis of fatty acids showed accuracy, precision and linearity in the concentration range studied. Non-significant differences in fat content between the different processes were found; however, there was a decrease of 23% in the fat content of spray dried milk. The fat mean globule size decreased considerably in all treatments, varying from 2138 to 529 nm. The size distribution of fat globules increased during pasteurization and drying from 0.24 in raw milk to 0.78 in pasteurized milk. With respect to the fatty acid profile, we found that human milk samples had an elevated content of palmitic (27%), and oleic (30%) acids and significant variations were observed in the pasteurized samples for oleic and linoleic acid. Preservation processes applied to human milk caused a decrease on the fat globule diameter; the change in size increased the surface area and could improve the bioavailability of the fat components. This is the first report of human milk drying as a preservation method. Keywords: human milk fat, fatty acids, pasteurization, lyophilization, spray drying Cite This Article: A. Cavazos-Garduño, J.C. Serrano-Niño, J.R. Solís-Pacheco, J.A Gutierrez-Padilla, O. González-Reynoso, H.S. García, and B.R. Aguilar-Uscanga, “Effect of Pasteurization, Freeze-drying and Spray Drying on the Fat Globule and Lipid Profile of Human Milk.” Journal of Food and Nutrition Research, vol. 4, no. 5 (2016): 296-302. doi: 10.12691/jfnr-4-5-5. 1. Introduction Human milk is recognized as a nutritional and immunologically important food, appropriate for newborn babies. It reduces the risk of disease and death, and containins nutritional components such as lactose, lipids, proteins, vitamins, immunoglobulins, hormones, growth factors, enzymes and protective agents, which are in suitable concentrations to contribute to the correct growth and development of the newborn ([1,2]). Water is the major constituent of human milk (90%), that contains ca. 10% of solids; of which, the main components are lactose (6.7 to 7.8 g/dL), fat (3.2 to 3.6 g/dL) and protein (0.9 to 1.2 g/dL). This composition may be modified by factors such as, individual characteristics of the mother, lactation cycle, diet, number and length of gestation, seasonal and geographic factors ([3,4]). The most variable component is fat, which provides nearly 50% of the energy, and facilitates the transport and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins to the infant ([4,5]). Fat in human milk comes from fat depots of the mother as well as from endogenous synthesis by the mammary gland [6]. Milk fat is found in form of globules as part of a colloidal system, which is formed in the mammary gland by a biological mechanism of assembly of intracellular lipid droplets through the plasma membrane of the epithelial cells ([7,8]). The fat globule in human milk has a size distribution ranging from 1 to 4 μm, It is formed by a triacylglycerol core covered by a trilayer membrane composed of phospholipids, proteins, sphingolipids, cholesterol, glycoproteins and enzymes ([8,9]). The triacylglycerols present in the fat globule contain fatty acids involved in brain development and visual acuity. It is also important in the process of synthesis of prostaglandins and eicosanoids and in the calcium absorption process, which is necessary for infant development [10]. Palmitic and oleic acids are found in greater proportion in human milk. Saturated fatty acids