Characterisation of bovine and buffalo anhydrous milk fat fractions along with infant formulas fat: Application of differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and colour attributes

In this study, bovine and buffalo milk-derived ghee were fractionated using dry and solvent fractionation methods. Three different fractions including olein, stearin 1, and acetone washed-stearin (stearin 2) were obtained. The fatty acids composition, thermal profiles, and colour attributes of milk fat fractions were analysed along with infant formulas’ fat. Furthermore, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was applied in the wavenumber region of 4000–500 cm⁻¹ to discriminate the different fractions. The results showed significant differences in fatty acids composition among the different types of fat, and stearin 2 fractions presented the highest saturated fatty acids content (90.38 and 83.30% for bovine stearin 2 and buffalo stearin 2, respectively). The different fractions of milk fat in addition to infant formulas fat demonstrated wide variations in their thermal behavior. The chroma and yellowness index values of bovine ghee, olein, and stearin 1 were significantly higher than those of the other fractions. The potential application of milk fat fractions as human milk fat substitutes needs further investigation.