Changes in milk fat phospholipids during lactation

Changes in lipid composition were studied in milk obtained on postpartum d 3 (colostrum), 7, 42, and 180 from 12 Holstein cows. Triglycerides, 96 to 97% of total lipids, were relatively constant during lactation. Phospholipids and cholesterol declined with advancing lactation. Concentrations of the fatty acids synthesized within the mammary gland, C10:0 to C16:0, increased about 50% from 7 to 42 d of lactation. During this period, compensatory decreases were observed in C18:1. The phospholipids were separated into five major classes: sphingomyelin, phosphatidyl choline, serine, inositol, and ethanolamine for fatty acid analysis. The changes that occurred in milk total fatty acids were reflected in phosphatidyl phospholipid fatty acid composition: an increase in medium-chain fatty acids and a decrease in polyunsaturated fatty acids of 18, 20, and 22 carbon atom chain length as lactation progressed. These changes are consistent with the theory that milk phospholipids are synthesized de novo entirely in the mammary gland.