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The functionalities and applications of whey/whey protein in fermented foods: a review

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Abstract

Whey, a major by-product of cheese production, is primarily composed of whey protein (WP). To mitigate environmental pollution, it is crucial to identify effective approaches for fully utilizing the functional components of whey or WP to produce high-value-added products. This review aims to illustrate the active substances with immunomodulatory, metabolic syndrome-regulating, antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory activities produced by whey or WP through fermentation processes, and summarizes the application and the effects of whey or WP on nutritional properties and health promotion in fermented foods. All these findings indicate that whey or WP can serve as a preservative, a source of high-protein dietary, and a source of physiologically active substance in the production of fermented foods. Therefore, expanding the use of whey or WP in fermented foods is of great importance for converting whey into value-added products, as well as reducing whey waste and potential contamination.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Gansu Science and Technology Program (No. 22JR5RA465 and 23JRRG0020), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (lzujbky-2023-33), as well as the National Undergraduate Innovation & Entrepreneurship Training Program of Lanzhou University (202310730217).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    **aorong Zeng, Yujie Wang, Shuda Yang, Yijun Liu & Diru Liu

  2. Zhangye Water Saving Agricultural Experimental Station, Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhangye, 734000, China

    **ng Li

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  1. **aorong Zeng
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  2. Yujie Wang
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  3. Shuda Yang
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  4. Yijun Liu
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  5. **ng Li
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Contributions

XZ: Methodology, Writing-original draft preparation, Visualization. YW, SY, and YL: Visualization. XL: Conceptualization, Methodology. DL: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing-review and editing, Supervision.

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Correspondence to **ng Li or Diru Liu.

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Zeng, X., Wang, Y., Yang, S. et al. The functionalities and applications of whey/whey protein in fermented foods: a review. Food Sci Biotechnol 33, 769–790 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-023-01460-5

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