In vitro evaluation of the effect of milk processing on digestion as a tool for the development of dairy products for the elderly

• Grant number: 24/17153-9
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: February 29, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Technology
• Principal Investigator: Débora Parra Baptista Freitas
• Grantee: Débora Parra Baptista Freitas
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos (FEA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Fernanda Furlan Gonçalves Dias ; Juliana Azevedo Lima Pallone
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/02999-2 - Probiotic dairy products for the elderly: effect of dairy matrix on the resistance of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus to in vitro digestion, BP.IC; 25/12171-1 - Milk for senior consumers: evaluation of the effect of milk processing on gastric digestion kinetics, bioactive potential, and the bioaccessibility of peptides and minerals, BP.MS; 25/03987-8 - Dairy products for the elderly: effect of the dairy matrix structure on bioactive potential and bioaccessibility of peptides and minerals, BP.MS

Abstract

With the increase in life expectancy of the global population and the consequent increase in the elderly population in relation to other age groups, strategies to maintain health and quality of life during aging are a worldwide trend. The consumption of milk and dairy products has the potential to contribute to healthy aging since these products contain proteins of high biological value, bioactive peptides, and essential minerals, compounds that can contribute to the prevention of diseases with an increased incidence in the elderly population, such as sarcopenia, hypertension, and osteoporosis. However, the processing of raw milk to obtain processed dairy products can change its components and structure, which can affect the behavior of these food products in the digestive process and their absorption in the human body. Additionally, changes that occur in the gastrointestinal tract as a result of the aging process can result in reduced nutrient absorption, which makes the assessment of digestion a particularly important tool in the development of products for the elderly, as it can help in the design of foods with greater bioavailability of nutrients and bioactive compounds. In this context, the present project aims to use static and semi-dynamic in vitro digestion methods under conditions that simulate the digestion of older adults to evaluate the effect of traditional processing in the dairy industry on the kinetics of gastric digestion (proteolysis and lipolysis), on the antihypertensive potential and on the bioaccessibility of peptides and minerals from dairy matrices. With the completion of this project, it is expected to contribute to the development of dairy products for the elderly with potential health benefits by increasing the bioaccessibility of nutrients and bioactive compounds. (AU)