INTRODUCTION:

Proteins are the organic compounds that are made up of amino acids which are arranged in either linear chains or globular forms. The amino acids are joined together by the peptide bonds present between the carboxyl and amino groups of residues of the adjacent amino acid¹. There are 20 well known amino acids which are encoded by genetic codes that perform major functions in the body. In contrast, cases of metabolic syndromes such as cancer, obesity, diabetes and complications related to cardiac system are gradually increasing in an alarming manner^2,3.

This mediation is subsequently increasing the dietary needs for an effective control over these metabolic diseases and for this, foods containing high proteinaceous values have been suggested to be included on a regular basis in ones dietary chart⁴. These protein rich foods have expensive values in the market, due to which some people cannot afford them, because of which there are more chances of one attaining a biological disease⁵.

The above-mentioned fact highlights the importance of including a protein rich food product which can be affordable and contains a remarkable nutritive value that can help the people in getting rid of such kinds of biological diseases⁶. Milk is an important food product that is included in the balance diet. It contains several valuable constituents such as vitamins and proteins which claim the nutritive values, essential for a person’s health benefit. Proteins are of two types- casein which contributes 80% of the total proteins present in food and the rest 20% is the whey protein. Casein is less soluble and the slowest acting form of protein because it takes longer than whey or soy protein to digest^7,8.

Whey his highly bioactive i.e. has highest biological value of any protein source, thus, it is an excellent choice for looking for a protein product which can be used to build body mass⁹. Whey proteins are one of the most important and primarily used proteins, found in dairy products which are extracted from milk whey, liquid material which is manufactured as a byproduct in cheese making process. Bioactive peptides are one of the most studied compounds in milk whey, which performs various biological roles^10,11.Whey milk proteins contain essential amino acids in bulks which carry out functions that proteins perform in the body and are used in manufacturing products like, foods for the infant, nutritional products most probably applied for athletes, products used somehow to control obesity, mood control and other vital protein supplements for treating enteric disturbances. In addition, fermented dairy products (e.g. yoghurt and cheese) are gaining more popularity as they are considered to be a good source of dairy peptides and also reduce the risk of hypertension and coagulopathy and cancer^10-14.

Components of Whey Proteins:

A) Proteins and Peptides:

· Glycomacropeptide- Glycomacropeptide, a hydrophilic glycopeptide, is a component of whey protein which has beneficial effects on the satiety induction and phenylketonuria management¹⁵.

· β-LG, lipocalin protein that binds to the hydrophobic molecules which proves to play a vital role in transportation. It is one of the major source of both essential as well as BCAA content in bovine and sheep’s milk whey and is also present in other mammalian species except humans.

Its structure contains retinol binding protein that regulates the lymphatic responses. It predominantly occurs in dimeric forms but below a pH of 3, the structure is observed in monomeric forms. β- LG may also sometimes be observed as a tetramer, octamer and in other multimeric forms¹⁶.

β-LG present in bovine milk is a small protein containing 162 residues (18.4kDa), which has the ability to bind to iron through siderophores that plays an important role in fighting against a pathogen. The structure of β-LG is identified by X-ray crystallography and NMR¹⁶.

· α-LA - protein, whose regulatory subunits are Lactose Synthase (LS) heterodimer and β-1,4 galactosyltransferase. It modulates the lactose production in almost all the mammalian species and is the second most important protein in whey milk. It is synthesized in mammary glands and contains tryptophan content that increases the plasma tryptophan-large neutral amino acids ration by which cognitive disease can be treated. It has also proven to be effective as an anti-cancer agent. In primates, the expression of this protein is regulated in response to the hormone prolactin that results in the increased lactose production¹⁷.

· BSA, largest protein content in milk samples where major portion of protein has high concentrations of sulphur amino acids and glutamylcysteine (precursors of glutathione). In immunochemistry, preferably to study its behavior and growth of cancerous tumors. It acts as a carrier of fatty acids, other lipids and flavoring agents. BSA modulates the activities of the autocrine growth regulatory factors that inhibits the growth of tumor and is an important constituent in “cell sport’s drinks” as it promotes cell growth and longevity¹⁸.

· Igs or antibody is a specialized type of glycoprotein. It comprises about 10%-15% of the total whey proteins in bovine milk. It is proven that IgG derived from bovine milk suppresses the proliferation response of human lymphocytes on T-cells, studied in-vitro conditions¹⁹. Previous studies has also confirmed that unpasteurized milk of cow contains some specific antibodies that acts against human rotavirus and bacteria.

· Lf, non-enzymatic; anti-oxidant; iron-binding glycoprotein), present in whey milk and naturally found in cow milk (0.2g/L). It contains about 689 amino acid residue and acts as a host defense molecule which has the ability to perform numerous biological activities such as antimicrobial (acts against Listeria monocytogens, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus species), antiviral (against Hepatitis C, rotavirus, HIV, Influenza and herpes viruses), immunomodulatory and antioxidant activity (binds to free ferric ion with high affinity). Lactoferrin also shows anti-inflammatory and anti-cancerous effects and is an important bar in the mucosal wall preventing viral and microbial attacks^{20, 21}.

Lactoferrin is classified as bovine origin and human origin that has same sequence identities. Bovine Lactoferrin mainly contains sugars like N-acetylglucosamine, acetyllactosamine, galactose, mannose, neuramic acid and fucose.

· Lysozyme, hydrolytic enzyme and showing wider industrial application in pharmacology and veterinary medicines. In whey protein, it makes up approximately 0.1% of whey protein composition. It has immunity enhancing properties²².

· Proteose peptone are left in milk after heated at high temperature and widely used in the production of monoclonal antibodies through hybridoma technology²³.

B) Essential amino acids:

BCAAs: Refer to branched chain amino acids. There are three types of BCAAs found in whey protein; leucine, Isoleucine and Valine. Leucine constitutes about 10% of the total protein found in whey.

· Leucine: It is a branched chain amino acid that modulates cellular processes, such as synthesis of proteins, regulation and formation of tissue that of metabolism. The use of leucine has been studied in the process of aging, muscle lesions, diabetes mellitus obesity and energy deprivation. Leucine helps in skin and bones healing process and is also found to stimulate the production of the human growth hormone²⁴.

· Isoleucine: It plays a vital role in the proper functioning of the body .With leucine, it helps in regulating blood glucose level and healing wounds .It helps in detoxifying nitrogen wastes like ammonia .It’s deficiency can lead to muscle weakness and tremors²⁵.

· Valine: It is a precursor of penicillin biosynthetic pathway that endures, strengthens and promotes muscle growth, increase growth hormones and helps in tissue repair. Its defect cause neurological defects in brain²⁶.

To gather they make up BCAAs, in whey protein and have following advantages^22-26:

· Increase muscle growth: Leucine activates a certain pathway in the body that stimulates muscle protein synthesis, which ultimately helps in making muscles.

· Decrease muscle soreness: These BCAAs can help decrease muscle soreness after the workout

· Reduce exercise fatigue: Everyone experience fatigue and exhaustion after the workout .Our muscles use BCAAs during exercise causing levels in our blood to decrease which makes us exhausted which can be prevented by consumption of whey protein just after exercise.

· Helps in liver diseases: These proteins help people who are suffering from cirrhosis. Liver cirrhosis is a major risk factor for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer for which these BCAAs are useful. Some natural sources of BCAAs are chicken, beef, tuna, salmon, milk, reek yogurt.

· Valine, leucine and Isoleucine are added in the supplement in the ratio of 2:1:2.

Methionine:

Methionine is found in meat, fish and dairy products which plays a key role in cell functioning of our body. Methionine plays an essential role in keeping the liver healthy and prevented the diseases if liver like liver poisoning²⁷.

Phenylalaninie:

It is an amino acid found in a number of food source and is extensively studied for its effects on depression, pain and skin disorders. Phenylalanine is found to be an important source in the production of molecules like tyrosine, epinephrine and nor epinephrine and dopamine²⁸.

Threonine:

It is a principle part of structural proteins like collagen, elastin which are important components of skin and other connective tissue. It also has an important role to play in fat metabolism and immune function²⁹.

Tryptophan:

It is needed to maintain proper nitrogen balance; along with it is precursor of serotonin which is a neurotransmitter that regulates sleep, appetite and mood of a person³⁰.

Histidine:

It helps in the production of histamine which is essential for immune response, digestion, sexual function and to maintain a healthy sleep cycle³¹.

Semi essential amino acids:

· Arginine- Arginine is an amino acid that plays an important role in body building and exercising in general to fight against physical and mental fatigue and provides a lower LDL level in bloodstream that increases the fat metabolism. It is also used in treating cardiovascular disease (heart related problems). It performs many other functions like wound healing, removal of nitrogenous waste products from kidneys, maintaining hormonal and immune function, dilates and relaxes the arteries and improves the blood flow^26-31.

· Cysteine- It acts as an anti-oxidant because it protects the cells from the damage by free radicals and along with glutathione, provides immune support. Cysteine helps in detoxification of liver as it binds to the toxins (heavy metals) and prepares the body for excretion^28,29.

· Glycine- It acts as an anti-oxidizing agent and helps in the formation of creatine that provides energy to the muscles for weightlifting and sprinting. Collagen contains high amounts of glycine that strengthens muscles, skin, cartilage, blood, bones and ligaments.

· Tyrosine- It is taken as a pre-workout supplement, which helps in increasing neurotransmitters (dopamine, adrenaline, and norepinephrine) that improves memory and performance in stressful conditions^28,29.

· Glutamic ACID- Glutamic acid is also known as glutamate which is used by the body to build proteins. It is the most important neurotransmitter in central nervous system (CNS)^29,30.

Types of whey proteins

Whey proteins are available in three different forms^32,33

· Whey protein concentrates (WPC) - It contains low levels of fats and carbohydrates. The percentage of protein in WPC depends on its concentration. In case of lower and higher end concentrate levels, 30% and 90% of proteins are present respectively.

· Whey protein hydrolysate (WPH) - It is the pre-digested for of whey proteins that undergoes partial hydrolysis and does not require much digestion as the whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolate.

· Whey protein isolates (WPI)- Contain 90% of proteins and when processed fats and sugars (lactose) are removed

Therapeuticproperties of Whey Protein:

· Anti-cancerous: Some cheese whey components (cysteine and methionine; utilized in glutathione synthesis) have anti-cancer properties. Glutathione used as a substrate binds with two classes of enzymes which ultimately catalyze the detoxification of compounds and binds with carcinogens and mutagens, thus facilitating their elimination from the body. The presence of Lactoferrin, which binds with iron, has shown advantages in the prevention of colon cancer^32-34.

· Stimulating the immunity: From the precipitate of whey from the whey protein, we have obtained IgG, LP and Lf .IgG binds with the bacteria that lower the microbial toxins. The dietary Lp and Lf showed antibacterial actions on pathogenic microbes invading the hosts body. Lf is one of the major immuno modulatory substance which helps to boost up the immunity of the host^32-35.

· Prebiotic properties: There are some carbohydrates derived from whey protein which very important probiotics. Stallic acid present in some whey proteins also show prebiotics effect. There are also some non-carbohydrate probiotics found in whey protein which are known as glycomacropeptides (GMP) during cheese production^27-33.

· Anti-inflammatory properties are reported in whey protein and exhibit direct control in the regulation of hypertension. In literature, studies have shown the consumption along with utilization of whey proteins which may depleted the level of plasma concentration and also declining in the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines as compared to the consumption of same amount of casein^{34, 35}.

· Gastrointestinal health: Whey proteins exert therapeutic effect on gastrointestinal mucosa. This effect is due to the presence of sulfhydryl group in amino acid cysteine and its linkage with glutamic acid in production of glutathione^32-34.

Advantages of Consumption of whey Protein^28-35

· Promote muscle mass- With the increase of age the muscle mass in a human body also decreases. With the increase of aging process a man starts to accumulate fat in his body which results in the development of chronic illness. Strength training along with the consumption of high protein source such as whey protein help to maintain the muscle mass and prevent the excess accumulation of fat in the body and thus keeping one healthy. For muscle growth whey protein has shown to be beneficial as compared to other protein sources such as casein and soy because it is easy to digest.

· Helps in lowering blood sugar- Whey protein has ACE inhibitors, called lactokinnis which have been known for regulating the blood sugar levels in a man.

· Helps to treat type 2 Diabetes- Whey proteins has been found effective in regulating the blood sugar by controlling the insulin hormone secretion and sensitivity of its effect. Recent studies have shown that whey protein can be compared to sulfonylurea which is a drug used to treat diabetes.

· To reduce inflammation- Inflammation is an immune response to any sort of damage in our body. Chronic inflammation can be however serious to one individual and thus needs to be reduced when one happens. Recent studies have shown that consumption of whey protein helps to reduce C reactive protein, which is a key maker of inflammation

· Enhances the body’s antioxidant defense- One of the most important antioxidant in human is glutathione. In the body glutathione production depends on several amino acids such as cysteine.For this reason Cysteine rich food such as whey may help to increase the natural antioxidant defense.

· Have beneficial effect on blood fat- High cholesterol such as LDL is a major reason for several heart diseases. Consumption of whey regularly along with regular exercise helps to reduce the unwanted fat from the body.

· Beneficial in reducing weight: Whey protein is highly satisfying in nature means it helps one to stay full for a longer time which ultimately reduces the hunger.

CONCLUSION:

Whey protein is very easy for one to include in a diet, it can be consumed in various ways. It is found in the form of powder in the market which can be added in yogurt, smoothies, or it can be simply mixed with milk or water to consume. It is advised to consume approximately 25-50 g a day, but it mainly depends on the body type (ecto, endo or meso), height, weight and sex (male or female). Excessive consumption may lead to indigestion, nausea, bloating, and kidney problems. If one is lactose intolerant, whey protein hydrolysate is more suitable for them than the concentrated one.

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Received on 12.02.2021 Modified on 06.05.2021

Research J. Pharm.and Tech 2022; 15(4):1910-1914.

DOI: 10.52711/0974-360X.2022.00318