“…The actual biological function of b-LG is still unclear; however it often binds to small hydrophobic ligands, such as retinol, fatty acids, protoporphyrin IX, triacylglycerols, alkanes, aliphatic ketones, aromatic compounds, vitamin D, cholesterol, palmitic acid and calcium (at pH 5.0) (Brown, 1984;Cho, Batt, & Sawyer, 1994;Farrell et al, 1987;Futterman & Heller, 1972;O'Neil & Kinsella, 1987;Patocka & Jelen, 1991;Puyol, Pérez, Ena, & Calvo, 1991;Said, Ong, & Shingleton, 1989;Smith, Fantozzi, & Creveling, 1983;Wang, Allen, & Swaisgood, 1997;Wu, Pérez, Puyol, & Sawyer, 1999). Specifically, this protein binds to free fatty acids as they are released by pregastric lipases, in order to facilitate digestion of milk fat (Perez & Calvo, 1995).…”