Enhancement of waste from the dairy industry: production of a fermented product based on Buffalo cheese whey with nutraceutical properties

Buffalo cheese whey, a byproduct of mozzarella and ricotta production, has emerged as a valuable substrate in biotechnological research due to its remarkable nutritional and functional properties. Composed primarily of water (93–94%), it contains lactose, proteins, lipids, vitamins, and bioactive peptides, making it a valuable resource for transformation into high-value products. Once considered waste, cheese whey is now recognized as a secondary raw material with applications in food science, biotechnology, and sustainable waste management. The recovery and valorization of this by-product using sustainable waste management processes has become a challenge of increasing importance for the promotion of a circular economy. The use of biotechnological processes such as fermentation, which exploits the metabolism of selected strains, is still one of the most studied methods to be applied for this purpose. The microbial community inhabiting cheese whey, influenced by the origins of the milk, the working environment and the addition of starter cultures during production, is important because it makes the product unique and plays a pivotal role in the transformations that occur during cheese making process. Bacteria, yeasts and fungi are key microbial agents capable of synthesizing or increasing molecules that characterize the flavor, aroma, texture and taste of the product, but they have also an impact on the production of bioactive peptides, which have a wide range of beneficial effects on the human body. High-throughput techniques such as metabarcoding analysis have facilitated the identification and characterization of microbial diversity in Cheese Exhausted Whey (CEW) and Ricotta Cheese Exhausted Whey (RCEW), revealing species with probiotic and prebiotic potential. Complementary culturomics approaches have led to the isolation of bacterial and yeast strains that have been studied for their phenotypic characteristics and effects on the human organism as probiotics. Some of these strains were employed in fermentation processes, demonstrating the capacity to enhance bioactive peptide concentrations while maintaining the substrate’s natural origin. The resulting bioactive peptides exhibit diverse health benefits, including antioxidant properties, modulation of immune responses, oxidative stress mitigation, and enzymatic activity regulation. Their therapeutic potential extends to managing chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. By leveraging the metabolic activity of microorganisms, cheese whey can be transformed into innovative, high-value nutraceutical products, contributing to sustainable solutions for the disposal of dairy industry byproducts while addressing global health and environmental challenges.