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Review
. 2025 May 27;13(6):1311.
doi: 10.3390/biomedicines13061311.

Whey Proteins and Bioactive Peptides: Advances in Production, Selection and Bioactivity Profiling

Anna Luparelli  1 , Daniela Trisciuzzi  2 , William Matteo Schirinzi  1 , Leonardo Caputo  1 , Leonardo Smiriglia  3 , Laura Quintieri  1 , Orazio Nicolotti  2 , Linda Monaci  4
Affiliations
Review

Whey Proteins and Bioactive Peptides: Advances in Production, Selection and Bioactivity Profiling

Anna Luparelli et al. Biomedicines. .

Abstract

The whey protein (WP) fraction represents 18-20% of the total milk nitrogen content. It was originally considered a dairy industry waste, but upon its chemical characterization, it was found to be a precious source of bioactive components, growing in popularity as nutritional and functional food ingredients. This has generated a remarkable increase in interest in applications in the different sectors of nutrition, food industry, and pharmaceutics. WPs comprise immunoglobulins and proteins rich in branched and essential amino acids, and peptides endowed with several biological activities (antimicrobial, antihypertensive, antithrombotic, anticancer, antioxidant, opioid, immunomodulatory, and gut microbiota regulation) and technological properties (gelling, water binding, emulsification, and foaming ability). Currently, various process technologies and biotechnological methods are available to recover WPs and convert them into BioActive Peptides (BAPs) for commercial use. Additionally, in silico approaches could have a significant impact on the development of novel foods and/or ingredients and therapeutic agents. This review provides an overview of current and emerging methods for the production, selection, and application of whey peptides, offering insights into bioactivity profiling and potential therapeutic targets. Recent updates in legislation related to commercialized WPs-based products are also presented.

Keywords: WP-derived BAPs legislation; bioactive peptides; biological prediction; hydrolysis; in silico methods; machine learning; minor species; whey proteins; α-lactoalbumin; β-lactoglobulin.

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Conflict of interest statement

Leonardo Smiriglia works for the company Parafarmacia Smiriglia Leonardo. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Whey: from waste to precious resource. The data regarding whey production and pollution were reported by Buchanan et al. [1].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Classical and novel processing techniques to discover and obtain bioactive peptides (BAPs) from whey.
Figure 3
Figure 3
In silico tools to investigate BAPs derived from WP.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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