trans-C18:1 Isomers in Cheeses Enriched in Unsaturated Fatty Acids and Manufactured with Different Milk Fat Globule Sizes

Increasing the knowledge on dietary fat composition, mainly the minor components, will improve the nutritional value of foods and their labeling. In this study, we examined the trans-octadecenoic acid (C18:1) composition of Emmental cheeses enriched in unsaturated fatty acids (FA) and manufactured with milks produced by cows selected to produce small and large fat globules. The FA composition of the milks was not significantly (P > 0.05) different from the FA composition of the corresponding Emmental cheeses. Increasing the unsaturated FA content of the cheeses using dietary manipulations lead to an increase in the trans-C18:1 and changed their isomeric profiles. In milk fat produced with the linseed-enriched diet, the trans-10 C18:1 concentration was greater than trans-11 C18:1 (vaccenic acid), which is classically the major trans-C-18:1 in milk fat. The content in trans-C18:1 and more particularly in trans-10 C18:1 was negatively correlated with the size of fat globules (r(2) = 0. 82 and 0.87, respectively) and related to milk fat depression. The trans-C18:1 content was negatively correlated with the saturated FA (slope = -0.35; r(2) = 0.81) and positively correlated with the unsaturated (slope = 0.29; r(2) = 0.85) and monounsaturated (slope = 0.32; r(2) = 0.81) FA. Focusing on the health-related considerations of fat in food products, further nutritional studies are needed to elucidate the role of trans-C18:1 isomers.