Interaction of Fatty Acids with β-Lactoglobulin and Albumin from Ruminant Milk

Abstract

β-Lactoglobulin isolated from milk of cow, sheep, and goat had about 0.5mol of fatty acids bound per mol of monomer protein. Fatty acids, mainly palmitic and oleic acids, were the major components (about 75% of total lipids). Albumin isolated from the same samples had about 4.5mol of fatty acids bound per mol of protein. These two proteins were the only whey proteins able to bind labeled fatty acids in vitro. Interaction of β-lactoglobulin and albumin with insolubilized fatty acids showed some differences, suggesting different structures of the respective fatty acid binding sites.