Recent perspective on cow’s milk allergy and dairy nutrition

Abstract

Cow’s milk is a highly nutritious biological fluid that provides nourishment and immunity to infants when breastfeeding declines. However, some infants, children, and adults are allergic to cow’s milk because milk contains potential allergens in the form of proteins. Casein and whey proteins and their coagulated sub-fractions in the milk such as αS₁-casein, αS₂-casein, β-casein, κ-casein and α-lactalbumin, β-lactoglobulin, bovine serum albumin, immunoglobulins, lactoferrin, respectively are the major etiological determinant of cow’s milk allergy (CMA). Moreover, milk processing techniques such as homogenization and pasteurization alter the milk fat and whey protein’s molecular structure and serve them as allergens to the immune system of allergic individuals. Strict exclusion of nutrient-rich milk and other dairy products from diet puts children with CMA at higher nutritional risk. Thus, regular nutritional monitoring, the inclusion of protein and mineral-rich supplements as a substitute for cow’s milk, management of animal genetics (sheep, goats, buffaloes, camel, mare, donkey, yak), and milk processing to produce non-allergenic milk by inactivating allergic proteins for designer nutrition is essentially required. This review paper details the prevalence, molecular profiling of milk allergens (proteins), body immune response against CMA, consequences of milk processing, treatment, and novel role of galectins as potentially allergy suppressors.

Keywords:

• Cow’s milk allergy
• caseins
• whey proteins
• galectin
• pasteurization
• dairy cow nutrition

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the National Institute of Food and Agriculture Evans Allen funds: ‘Molecular Signatures and Regulatory Checkpoints for Animal Health’ Project NO. NC. X 320-5-19-120.1 for funding the postdoctoral Scientist. Special thanks also go to the Members of the Laboratory for Animal Genomic Diversity and Biotechnology (LAGenDB) at North Carolina A&T State University for assisting with edits. We acknowledge the editorial suggestions from Dr. Salam Ibrahim.