Fuente: Foods - Revista científica (MDPI) Foods, Vol. 15, Pages 1895: Sustainable Whey-Based Functional Beverages Enriched with Andean Blueberry (Vaccinium floribundum Kunth) and Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.): Optimization, Antioxidant Properties, and Gastrointestinal Bioaccessibility
Foods doi: 10.3390/foods15111895
Authors:
Ociel Muñoz-Fariña
Alba-Paola Maldonado
Olga García Figueroa
Gabriela M. Bulnes-Vides
Luisbel González
María Cristina Ravanal

Dairy whey is an underutilized by-product with potential as a sustainable carrier for bioactive compounds. This study developed and optimized fermented whey-based beverages enriched with Andean blueberry (Vaccinium floribundum Kunth) and blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) extracts and evaluated their antioxidant properties and gastrointestinal bioaccessibility. Beverages were formulated with fermented whey and berry extracts and optimized using a 3ᵏ response surface design considering extract concentration and storage time. The optimal formulations contained 50% berry extract. The Andean blueberry beverage showed the highest functional performance, with 2268.97 ± 4.41 µmol Trolox equivalents (TE)/100 mL by oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), 1442.46 ± 12.95 µmol TE/100 mL by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging assay (DPPH), 242.60 ± 6.25 mg GAE/100 mL of total polyphenols, 137.94 ± 2.76 mg QE/100 mL of flavonoids, and 21.50 ± 0.51 mg C3GE/100 mL of anthocyanins. During in vitro digestion, polyphenols and flavonoids showed high bioaccessibility, reaching values above 80% in gastric or intestinal stages, while ORAC antioxidant capacity increased up to 153% in the jejunal phase. Anthocyanins remained more stable under gastric conditions but decreased during intestinal digestion. These findings support fermented whey as a value-added matrix for developing bioactive-rich functional beverages with improved digestive functionality.