Major Free Fatty Acids in Milk

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Abstract
Milk and its fractions were lyophilized and the powder was mixed with silicic acid, acidified and extracted with ethyl ether in a Soxhlet extractor. The free fatty-acids (FFA) were isolated on an anionic exchange resin, converted to methyl esters and analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography. Most of the FFA of milk were distributed in the fat and the fat globule membrane fraction. Milk serum free of lipid material contained less than 10% of the FFA. Milks with higher fat content contain more FFA, and milks standardized with skimmilk contain less than the original. Heating of milk had a pronounced effect upon the quantity of FFA; the FFA decreased as heat treatments increased. Induced lipolysis caused a marked increase in FFA. The FFA composition of milk was usually comparable to the fatty-acid composition of milk glycerides regardless of treatment.