A mass spectrometry approach to dairy science

Bovine milk is a source of an array of (un)known (bioactive) compounds from a variety of molecular and chemical classes. Because of a such complex food matrix, accurate and sensitive analytical approaches are needed to identify newly formed molecules (e.g. bioactive milk non-nutrients or xenobiotics), and to recognize chemical and enzymatic modifications which known milk components undergo upon processing and in vitro digestion. In this perspective, tailored sample preparation followed by LC/HR-MS represents a powerful analytical tool to solve some scientific issues in dairy sector. In this presentation, some of the current applications of MS in dairy science will be discussed with special regard to characterization of novel functional/(bio)active milk compounds, reliable identification of dairy markers (e.g. studying post-translational modifications, proteolytic phenomena, identification of bioactive non-nutrients), traceability and confirmation of authenticity of dairy products.