Milk Whey Hydrolysates as High Value-Added Natural Polymers: Functional Properties and Applications

There are two types of milk whey obtained from cheese manufacture: sweet and acid. It retains around 55% of the nutrients of the milk. Milk whey is considered as a waste, creating a critical pollution problem, because 9 L of whey are produced from every 10 L of milk. Some treatments such as hydrolysis by chemical, fermentation process, enzymatic action, and green technologies (ultrasound and thermal treatment) are successful in obtaining peptides from protein whey. Milk whey peptides possess excellent functional properties such as antihypertensive, antiviral, anticancer, immunity, and antioxidant, with benefits in the cardiovascular, digestive, endocrine, immune, and nervous system. This review presents an update of the applications of milk whey hydrolysates as a high value-added peptide based on their functional properties.