Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Dec 8;79(Suppl 2):36-47.
doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuab097.

Dairy bioactive proteins and peptides: a narrative review

Nancy Auestad  1 , Donald K Layman  2
Affiliations
Review

Dairy bioactive proteins and peptides: a narrative review

Nancy Auestad et al. Nutr Rev. .

Abstract

Milk proteins are known for their high nutritional quality, based on their essential amino acid composition, and they exhibit a wide range of bioactivities, including satiety, antimicrobial, mineral-binding, and anti-lipidemic properties. Because of their unique water solubility, milk proteins are readily separated into casein and whey fractions, which can be further fractionated into many individual proteins, including alpha-S1- and alpha-S2-caseins, beta-casein, and kappa-casein, and the whey proteins alpha-lactalbumin, lactoferrin, beta-lactoglobulin, and glycomacropeptide. Many of these proteins have unique bioactivities. Further, over the past 30 years, peptides that are encrypted in the primary amino acid sequences of proteins and released along with amino acids during digestion are increasingly recognized as biologically active protein metabolites that may have beneficial effects on human health. This review examines the current state of the science on the contribution of dairy proteins and their unique peptides and amino acids to human health.

Keywords: alpha-lactalbumin; angiotensin-converting enzyme; bioactive peptides; glycomacropeptide; whey protein.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 8th edition. December 2015. Available at: https://health.gov/our-work/food-nutrition/previous-dietary-guidelines/2015.
    1. Fardet A, Dupont D, Rioux L-E, et al. Influence of food structure on dairy protein, lipid and calcium bioavailability: a narrative review of evidence. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2019;59:1987–2010. - PubMed
    1. Drouin-Chartier JP, Brassard D, Tessier-Grenier M, et al. Systematic review of the association between dairy product consumption and risk of cardiovascular-related clinical outcomes. Adv Nutr. 2016;7:1026–1040. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ralston RA, Lee JH, Truby H, et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of elevated blood pressure and consumption of dairy foods. J Hum Hypertens. 2012;26:3–13. - PubMed
    1. Schwingshackl L, Schwedhelm C, Hoffmann G, et al. Food groups and risk of hypertension: a systematic review and dose–response meta-analysis of prospective studies. Adv Nutr. 2017;8:793–803. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types