Processing Whey as Secondary Dairy Raw Material in Functional Foods

Whey, its proteins, peptides, and lactose hold great promise for the functional food industry. Whey has an excellent biological potential but lacks plant polyphenols. Whey-based functional foods rely on the synergistic action of whey components and plant metabolites. This review covers 32 articles regarding the use of whey and plant metabolites as functional food ingredients. Most studies used encapsulated whey proteins to preserve the bioactivity and enhance the bioavailability of plant extracts. Native whey was primarily used in functional beverages. The bioactive profile was studied in vitro while the biological potential of whey remained understudied. Plant extracts, not individual compounds, usually served as sources of bioactive compounds. Future research prospects lie in the combined application of whey and its components with plant-derived bioactive substances. While the antioxidant potential of such functional foods is obvious, the synergistic effects may be hypoglycemic, hypocholesterolemic, and prebiotic.