Dairy products are associated with numerous health benefits. These are a good source of nutrients such as carbohydrates, protein (bioactive peptides), lipids, minerals, and vitamins, which are essential for growth, development, and maintenance of the human body. Accordingly, dairy bioactive peptides are one of the targeted compounds present in different dairy products. Dairy bioactive compounds can be classified as antihypertensive, anti-oxidative, immmunomodulant, anti-mutagenic, antimicrobial, opoid, anti-thrombotic, anti-obesity, and mineral-binding agents, depending upon biological functions. These bioactive peptides can easily be produced by enzymatic hydrolysis, and during fermentation and gastrointestinal digestion. For this reason, fermented dairy products, such as yogurt, cheese, and sour milk, are gaining popularity worldwide, and are considered excellent source of dairy peptides. Furthermore, fermented and non-fermented dairy products are associated with lower risks of hypertension, coagulopathy, stroke, and cancer insurgences. The current review article is an attempt to disseminate general information about dairy peptides and their health claims to scientists, allied stakeholders, and, certainly, readers.

Milk composition is an imperative aspect which influences the quality of dairy products. The objective of study was to compare the chemical composition, nitrogen fractions and amino acids profile of milk from buffalo, cow, sheep, goat, and camel. Sheep milk was found to be highest in fat (6.82%±0.04%), solid-not-fat (11.24%±0.02%), total solids (18.05%±0.05%), protein (5.15%±0.06%) and casein (3.87%±0.04%) contents followed by buffalo milk. Maximum whey proteins were observed in camel milk (0.80%±0.03%), buffalo (0.68%±0.02%) and sheep (0.66%±0.02%) milk. The non-protein-nitrogen contents varied from 0.33% to 0.62% among different milk species. The highest r-values were recorded for correlations between crude protein and casein in buffalo (r = 0.82), cow (r = 0.88), sheep (r = 0.86) and goat milk (r = 0.98). The caseins and whey proteins were also positively correlated with true proteins in all milk species. A favorable balance of branched-chain amino acids; leucine, isoleucine, and valine were found both in casein and whey proteins. Leucine content was highest in cow (108±2.3 mg/g), camel (96±2.2 mg/g) and buffalo (90±2.4 mg/g) milk caseins. Maximum concentrations of isoleucine, phenylalanine, and histidine were noticed in goat milk caseins. Glutamic acid and proline were dominant among non-essential amino acids. Conclusively, current exploration is important for milk processors to design nutritious and consistent quality end products.

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a significant challenge in developing countries. It increases the risk of premature delivery and low birth weight. In children, IDA retards growth, impairs cognitive performance, and reduces physical activity. It also accelerates the mortality and morbidity rate in women. The key factors responsible include dietary elevated iron demand, socioeconomic, and disease status. To overcome IDA, disease control measures, dietary diversification, supplementation and iron fortification in food have been adopted. Iron fortification in food is considered a long term and sustainable strategy in the present scenario. For an efficient fortification program, the combination of iron fortificants and food vehicle must be safe, acceptable, and consumed by the target population. Moreover, it should not adversely affect acceptability and stability of the end product.

The effect of sodium chloride on the production of organic acids during ripening of buffalo milk Cheddar cheese at elevated temperature was evaluated. Buffalo milk Cheddar cheese was produced by adding sodium chloride at the rate of 0, 1 and 2% and stored for ripening at 4C and 12C for 120 days. The cheese was evaluated for organic acids i.e., lactic, acetic, citric, pyruvic, formic, butyric and maleic and mineral contents, including sodium, calcium and potassium at 60 and 120 days of ripening. The results showed that elevated ripening temperature accelerated the production of all organic acids and significantly increased their concentrations. However, during ripening, no effect on minerals profile was observed. High level of salt decreased the production of organic acids during ripening irrespective of ripening temperatures. Hence, it was concluded that elevated ripening temperature and enhanced sodium concentrations showed considerable effect on organic acids production. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Worldwide, Cheddar cheese is produced from cow's milk, but buffalo milk ranks at the top in Pakistan's milk production and, being nutritionally rich, is more suitable for cheese. Moreover, cheese ripening is a lengthy process and attempts to shorten the ripening time using a range of systems have had varying degrees of success. Organic acids are the major products of glycolysis during ripening and play an integral role in cheese quality. The addition of salt affects the cheese ripening and hence influences the production of organic acids. The project was designed with greater significance to determine the effect of sodium chloride on production of organic acids during accelerated ripening of buffalo milk Cheddar cheese. Practically, the project concluded that the optimal quantity of salt addition should be 1% in cheese manufacturing and recommended the ripening at 12C for 120 days in buffalo milk Cheddar cheese for better compositional profile.