Application of NMR spectroscopy to milk and dairy products

NMR spectroscopy is a technique in increasing use for dairy research. It pr ovides us with unique information that can be applied to research or to qua lity control of dairy samples. In addition, it is a non-destructive and ver y versatile technique, providing data on the same sample under different pa rameters. This review intends to give an overview of the type of informatio n that can be obtained, based on some results obtained in dairy research. I t includes the application of NMR for qualitative and quantitative analysis , monitoring reactions in vivo, isotopic analysis, study of the physical st ate of milk fat and water, structural characterization and studies on the c onformational and aggregation state of proteins. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.