Formation, structures and properties of whey protein aggregates

Marie-Hélène Famelart (1) , Thomas Croguennec (1) , Fanny Guyomarc'H (1) , Said Bouhallab (1)

1 STLO - Science et Technologie du Lait et de l'Oeuf

The native whey proteins have been intensively used in a multitude of food applications due to their high nutritional, biological, and versatile techno-functional properties. The range of applications of whey proteins has further been extended in the last decades by the use of whey protein aggregates offering new techno-functional properties. These properties are directly dependent on the structure of whey protein aggregates, i.e., their size, shape, density, internal structure and surface properties, and the type of bonds linking proteins in the aggregates.1 In this presentation, after a brief description of the major whey proteins, we examine the most important advances reported to date pertaining to the available approaches i- to modify the structure of whey proteins for specific functionalities; ii- to assemble these proteins into supramolecular structures; iii- to modify whey protein aggregates by chemical grafting. Our laboratory, Science and Technology of Milk and Eggs, has contributed significantly to the advances in knowledge on the structure-function relationships of whey proteins either in the native or denatured/aggregated forms. Our expertise and research approaches are highlighted throughout some selected results accumulated during the last decade.

Mots clés: protéine de lait; structure des protéines; agrégation; propriétés fonctionnelles

Domaines: Ingénierie des aliments; Alimentation et Nutrition

Marie-Hélène Famelart, Thomas Croguennec, Fanny Guyomarc'H, Said Bouhallab. Formation, structures and properties of whey protein aggregates. Séminaire Nutrition Infantile, Spectralys Innovation, Jun 2015, Paris, France. ⟨hal-01209823⟩