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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Dairy and Functional Foods Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #429262
Research Project: The Effects of Dietary Components and Food Processing on the Gut Ecosystem

Location: Dairy and Functional Foods Research

Title: Whey protein isolate enhances the growth and probiotic features of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG

Author
item Narrowe, Adrienne
item Liu, Lin
item Jaganatha Chetty, Venkateswari
item Mahalak, Karley
item Firrman, Jenni
item Scarino Lemons, Johanna

Submitted to: Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/23/2026
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Probiotics are bacteria which are consumed for their health benefits. The function of probiotics can be enhanced by providing them with specific nutrients. Whey protein isolate (WPI) is a popular nutritional supplement. Here, WPI was tested for its ability to serve as an enhancing nutrient for one of the most used probiotics - Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG). The experiment showed that adding WPI to LGG moderately enhanced LGG growth and stimulated the features of LGG which are most beneficial to the host. The intentional combination of these two popular products may offer additional benefits to consumers who use them. This will additionally benefit dairy producers and companies involved in the development and production of probiotics and prebiotics.

Technical Abstract: Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus strain GG (LGG) is a broadly used probiotic with several unique features that help it provide beneficial effects to its host. Key among the probiotic features of LGG is the production of bioactive metabolites and secreted proteins such as p40 and p75. The ability of LGG to persist in the gastrointestinal tract depends primarily on its ability to adhere to the gut mucosa via the generation of adhesion pili. While LGG is already used as a probiotic, potential still exists for optimization of the metabolic state of LGG to further enhance its probiotic capacity. Here, we evaluated the ability of whey protein isolate to enhance the viability and probiotic effects of LGG. RNA sequencing and untargeted metabolomics revealed that WPI supplementation enhanced LGG growth and metabolic activity and increased the transcription of genes for the production of adhesion pili, key secreted proteins, and beneficial metabolites. These results indicate that whey protein is a viable supplement option for use with LGG and may help to boost the probiotic activity and survival of LGG within the gastrointestinal tract.