Bioactivity and safety of whey peptides

Whey protein is a fraction of milk protein that has both nutritional and health boosting effects. Hydrolyzation of whey protein by enzyme or fermentation can generate bioactive peptides that are beneficial to the life activities and/or regulate the physiological functions. Though whey protein has been widely applied in food industry, many newly developed whey protein peptide products with multiple bioactivities come up in commercial market or from research labs. In this paper, we systematically discussed the general production flow of whey peptides, newly found bioactive peptides from whey and their functions, the safety evaluation of those whey products containing mixed peptides as well as the typical whey protein peptide lactoferricin. Generally, whey hydrolyzed peptides can be safely used as food ingredients for functional foods, whereas specific purified whey peptide should be carefully evaluated before use in high quantities.