Buffaloes in South America: A Promising and Sustainable Source of Dairy Proteins and Agro‐Industrial Development

Buffalo ( Bubalus bubalis ) production offers a promising and sustainable solution to meet the growing demand for food. Particularly, buffalo milk constitutes a valuable source of high‐quality proteins with outstanding technological potential. This review highlights the opportunities of the buffalo dairy value chain as a strategic and sustainable agro‐industrial alternative in South America, emphasizing its contributions to food security, socio‐economic development, and environmentally responsible production. The buffalo's biological and productive characteristics that support its convenience over traditionally farmed livestock (e.g., Bos taurus or Bos indicus ) are discussed. Buffaloes' adaptive traits allow them to thrive in marginal environments under extensive farming practices through sustainable production systems. Their high efficiency in converting low‐quality forage and agro‐industrial by‐products into high‐nutritional animal protein, along with their environmental and economic benefits, are examined. Furthermore, the nutritional composition of buffalo milk and current knowledge on its health‐promoting properties, with a special emphasis on its protein fraction, are thoroughly reviewed. The physicochemical properties of buffalo milk make it suitable for producing derivatives with high yield, existing in a wide range of products yet to be explored. This review discusses the potential of the buffalo dairy industry, focusing on the development of innovative food products and value‐added by‐products. In particular, this review presents available information on buffalo whey and its proteins. It also covers recent advances in their molecular properties, recovery methods, and promising applications.