IMR Press / FBL / Volume 28 / Issue 2 / DOI: 10.31083/j.fbl2802041
Open Access Review
Role of Milk Micronutrients in Human Health
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1 Department of Biology, University of Naples “Federico II”, 84126 Naples, Italy
2 Centro Servizi Metrologici e Tecnologici Avanzati (CeSMA), Complesso Universitario di Monte Sant'Angelo, 80126 Naples, Italy
3 Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
4 Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples “Federico II”, 80100 Naples, Italy
5 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Perugia, 06126 Perugia, Italy
*Correspondence: gina.cavaliere@unipg.it (Gina Cavaliere)
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2023, 28(2), 41; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.fbl2802041
Submitted: 18 November 2022 | Revised: 22 December 2022 | Accepted: 4 January 2023 | Published: 28 February 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dietary Micronutrients)
Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

The aim of this review is to provide an overview of different compositions, in terms of main minerals and vitamins, of milk from animal species that represent the most common source of this food for humans, highlighting the uniqueness of nutritional qualities linked to animal species. It is known that milk is an important and valuable food for human nutrition, representing an excellent source of nutrients. Indeed, it contains both macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, and fat) that contribute to its nutritive and biological value and micronutrients represented by minerals and vitamins, which play a relevant role in the body’s various vital functions. Although their supply is represented by small quantities, vitamins and minerals are important components for a healthy diet. Milk composition in terms of minerals and vitamins differs between various animal species. Micronutrients are important components for human health as their deficiency is causes of malnutrition. Furthermore, we report on the most significant metabolic and beneficial effects of certain micronutrients in the milk, emphasizing the importance of this food for human health and the need for some milk enrichment procedures with the most relevant micronutrients to human health.

Keywords
milk
minerals
vitamins
nutrition
food-fortification
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