Glycomacropeptide: Biological Activities and Uses

Abstract

Glycomacropeptide (GMP) is a milk-derived bioactive peptide that comprises 15–20% of proteins present in whey, being the third most abundant. It is released from κ -casein by enzymatic digestion, either physiologically or in industry during cheese making process. GMP has many biological activities that are of particular interest for the manufacture of novel functional foods. Specifically, health promoting activities of this whey peptide are related to: antimicrobial, anticariogenic, gastric acid inhibitory, cholecystokinin releasing, prebiotic, and immune modulatory. GMP is also a peptide with promising use in food industry, due to its nutritional value and its emulsifying, foaming, and gelling properties. Besides, GMP has received much attention due to its use as an indicator of milk adulteration with cheese whey. This chapter summarizes the current knowledge about biological activities of GMP, going in-depth in immune regulatory properties, exposes the potential uses of GMP in industry, and finally reviews different methods used to detect GMP as adulteration index with cheese whey. and TNF- α and on STAT4 activation when cells were stimulated by A in of GMP. The same team studied the action of GMP on monocyte cell line THP-1 and they found that GMP increases the secretion