Fermented Whey Protein Supplementation Improves Muscular Strength, Muscle Parameters, and Physical Performance in Middle-Aged Korean Adults: An 8-Week Double Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

The present study evaluated the effects of fermented whey protein using kimchi lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus casei DK211 on skeletal muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical performance in healthy middle-aged males performing regular resistance exercises. Effective protein supplementation and regular exercise are two important factors for improving muscle health. Therefore, in this study, the effects of consuming fermented whey protein twice a day were investigated and compared with that of non-fermented supplementation. Forty-eight males (average age 44.8) were randomly assigned to two groups: fermented whey (FWPS, Fermented whey protein supplementation) and non-fermented (WPCS, Whey protein concentration supplementation) groups. Each group ingested 37 g of FWPS or WPCS twice a day for eight weeks. Body composition, muscle strength, and physical performance were assessed pre-and post-intervention. Independent t-tests or chi-square tests for the categorical variables were performed for analyzing the observations. FWPS was effective in promoting the physical performance in dynamic balance measurement and muscle health, indicated through the increment in grip strength (left), upper arm circumference, and flat leg circumference from the baseline. However, similar improvements were not observed in the WPCS group. These results imply that whey protein fermented by Lactobacillus casei DK211 is an effective protein supplement for enhancing muscle health in males performing regular resistance exercises.

Multi-Omics Approaches to Improve Meat Quality and Taste Characteristics

“…Chemically identical probes with different masses have been used to tag treatments for ICAT, with peak intensity of the first mass spectra (MS) being used to obtain the relative intensity, while the identity is derived from the second MS. Using this second MS (MS/MS), isobaric tags such as Tandem Mass Tag (TMT) and Isobaric Tag for Relative and Absolute Quantitation (iTRAQ) can obtain accurate and multiplexed quantification ( Kim et al, 2023b ; Zhang and Elias, 2017 ). In particular, TMT labeling enables multiplexing of multiple samples for relative quantification, which can improve analytical precision and accuracy.…”

“…Although there is an urgent need to understand the molecular mechanisms responsible for biochemical or biological changes in meat quality, methods for measuring and evaluating these biochemical and/or biological changes objectively are lacking unfortunately. Hence, it is important to understand the technical principle of approaches used to analyze the quality and taste of meat, to improve the accuracy to better reflect changes in quality and taste, and to identify the molecular mechanisms responsible for high-quality and delicious meat ( Gagaoua et al, 2021 ; Kim et al, 2023b ).…”