Unveiling the slow digestion and peptide profiles of polymerised whey gel via heat and TGase crosslinking: An in vitro/vivo perspective

Food Chem. 2025 Feb 1;464(Pt 3):141829. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.141829. Epub 2024 Oct 29.

Abstract

Polymerised whey is widely used in dairy products and can affect digestibility when its high-molecular-weight aggregates and gel structure are modified. This study investigated the digestibility, peptide profiles and satiety of modified whey protein isolate (MWPI) pre-heated with transglutaminase. Results showed that 43.06 % of MWPI was digested during the 4-h in vitro digestion, indicating a slow digestion rate. Compared with whey protein isolate (WPI), MWPI yielded 103 peptides with higher abundance following in vitro digestion, including 17 angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and 1 dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor. Visual analytics indicated differential peptides located at distinct α-helix and β-sheet of β-lactoglobulin, α-lactalbumin and bovine serum albumin. MWPI gavage extended stomach retention time, decreased intestinal propulsion rate from 75.60 % (WPI group) to 33.72 % in 30 min and enhanced satiety within 120 min compared with WPI. Overall, whey polymerisation modulates protein-enzyme interactions, releasing different peptides and enhancing satiety.

Keywords: Digestibility; Peptides; Satiety; Whey protein isolate.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cattle
  • Digestion*
  • Gels / chemistry
  • Hot Temperature*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Models, Biological
  • Peptides* / chemistry
  • Peptides* / metabolism
  • Polymerization
  • Rats
  • Whey / chemistry
  • Whey / metabolism
  • Whey Proteins* / chemistry
  • Whey Proteins* / metabolism

Substances

  • Whey Proteins
  • Peptides
  • Gels