Assessing Milk Authenticity Using Protein and Peptide Biomarkers: A Decade of Progress in Species Differentiation and Fraud Detection
Milk is a nutritionally rich food and a frequent target of economically motivated adulteration, particularly through substitution with lower-cost milk types. Over the past decade, significant progress has been made in the authentication of milk using advanced proteomic and chemometric approaches, wi...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Foods |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/15/2588 |
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| author | Achilleas Karamoutsios Pelagia Lekka Chrysoula Chrysa Voidarou Marilena Dasenaki Nikolaos S. Thomaidis Ioannis Skoufos Athina Tzora |
| author_facet | Achilleas Karamoutsios Pelagia Lekka Chrysoula Chrysa Voidarou Marilena Dasenaki Nikolaos S. Thomaidis Ioannis Skoufos Athina Tzora |
| author_sort | Achilleas Karamoutsios |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Milk is a nutritionally rich food and a frequent target of economically motivated adulteration, particularly through substitution with lower-cost milk types. Over the past decade, significant progress has been made in the authentication of milk using advanced proteomic and chemometric approaches, with a focus on the discovery and application of protein and peptide biomarkers for species differentiation and fraud detection. Recent innovations in both top-down and bottom-up proteomics have markedly improved the sensitivity and specificity of detecting key molecular targets, including caseins and whey proteins. Peptide-based methods are especially valuable in processed dairy products due to their thermal stability and resilience to harsh treatment, although their species specificity may be limited when sequences are conserved across related species. Robust chemometric approaches are increasingly integrated with proteomic pipelines to handle high-dimensional datasets and enhance classification performance. Multivariate techniques, such as principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), are frequently employed to extract discriminatory features and model adulteration scenarios. Despite these advances, key challenges persist, including the lack of standardized protocols, variability in sample preparation, and the need for broader validation across breeds, geographies, and production systems. Future progress will depend on the convergence of high-resolution proteomics with multi-omics integration, structured data fusion, and machine learning frameworks, enabling scalable, specific, and robust solutions for milk authentication in increasingly complex food systems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-acea8c8c505d4e59ad2e7a3f042f6f2e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2304-8158 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Foods |
| spelling | doaj-art-acea8c8c505d4e59ad2e7a3f042f6f2e2025-08-20T03:36:35ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582025-07-011415258810.3390/foods14152588Assessing Milk Authenticity Using Protein and Peptide Biomarkers: A Decade of Progress in Species Differentiation and Fraud DetectionAchilleas Karamoutsios0Pelagia Lekka1Chrysoula Chrysa Voidarou2Marilena Dasenaki3Nikolaos S. Thomaidis4Ioannis Skoufos5Athina Tzora6Laboratory of Animal Health, Hygiene and Food Quality, School of Agriculture, University of Ioannina, 47100 Arta, GreeceLaboratory of Food Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis Zografou, 15771 Athens, GreeceLaboratory of Animal Health, Hygiene and Food Quality, School of Agriculture, University of Ioannina, 47100 Arta, GreeceLaboratory of Food Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis Zografou, 15771 Athens, GreeceLaboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis Zografou, 15771 Athens, GreeceLaboratory of Animal Science, Nutrition and Biotechnology, School of Agriculture, University of Ioannina, 47100 Arta, GreeceLaboratory of Animal Health, Hygiene and Food Quality, School of Agriculture, University of Ioannina, 47100 Arta, GreeceMilk is a nutritionally rich food and a frequent target of economically motivated adulteration, particularly through substitution with lower-cost milk types. Over the past decade, significant progress has been made in the authentication of milk using advanced proteomic and chemometric approaches, with a focus on the discovery and application of protein and peptide biomarkers for species differentiation and fraud detection. Recent innovations in both top-down and bottom-up proteomics have markedly improved the sensitivity and specificity of detecting key molecular targets, including caseins and whey proteins. Peptide-based methods are especially valuable in processed dairy products due to their thermal stability and resilience to harsh treatment, although their species specificity may be limited when sequences are conserved across related species. Robust chemometric approaches are increasingly integrated with proteomic pipelines to handle high-dimensional datasets and enhance classification performance. Multivariate techniques, such as principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), are frequently employed to extract discriminatory features and model adulteration scenarios. Despite these advances, key challenges persist, including the lack of standardized protocols, variability in sample preparation, and the need for broader validation across breeds, geographies, and production systems. Future progress will depend on the convergence of high-resolution proteomics with multi-omics integration, structured data fusion, and machine learning frameworks, enabling scalable, specific, and robust solutions for milk authentication in increasingly complex food systems.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/15/2588milkspecies identificationproteomicspeptide biomarkerscaseinswhey proteins |
| spellingShingle | Achilleas Karamoutsios Pelagia Lekka Chrysoula Chrysa Voidarou Marilena Dasenaki Nikolaos S. Thomaidis Ioannis Skoufos Athina Tzora Assessing Milk Authenticity Using Protein and Peptide Biomarkers: A Decade of Progress in Species Differentiation and Fraud Detection Foods milk species identification proteomics peptide biomarkers caseins whey proteins |
| title | Assessing Milk Authenticity Using Protein and Peptide Biomarkers: A Decade of Progress in Species Differentiation and Fraud Detection |
| title_full | Assessing Milk Authenticity Using Protein and Peptide Biomarkers: A Decade of Progress in Species Differentiation and Fraud Detection |
| title_fullStr | Assessing Milk Authenticity Using Protein and Peptide Biomarkers: A Decade of Progress in Species Differentiation and Fraud Detection |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing Milk Authenticity Using Protein and Peptide Biomarkers: A Decade of Progress in Species Differentiation and Fraud Detection |
| title_short | Assessing Milk Authenticity Using Protein and Peptide Biomarkers: A Decade of Progress in Species Differentiation and Fraud Detection |
| title_sort | assessing milk authenticity using protein and peptide biomarkers a decade of progress in species differentiation and fraud detection |
| topic | milk species identification proteomics peptide biomarkers caseins whey proteins |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/15/2588 |
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