Brainy Milks Get Attention

Milk can be a delicious delivery system for nutrients, even if those nutrients are ginseng or phosphatidylserine. The two cognitive-health ingredients ended up in separate milk projects recently, and both nutrients proved useful.

When researchers assessed the stability and acceptability of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) extract in milk, they saw a 67.6% recovery of ginseng, even after ultra-high heat temperature treatment (UHT; a popular industry method for increasing milk shelf life in stores). Because ginger is a bitter root, a small amount of sucralose and vanilla extract helped mask the off-notes in a consumer taste test on the milk. If ginseng milk like this goes to market, the researchers believe just 150 to 300 mL of this milk can provide the amount of ginseng recommended in brain health studies. Learn more in the Journal of Dairy Science.

Phosphatidylserine (PS) is another peculiar add-on to milk, because this lipid is actually derived from, in the case of Enzymotec Ltd. (Migdal HaEmeq, Israel), soybean lecithin. But a Chinese baby food manufacturer named Beingmate is convinced enough by the science on PS for brain development that it’s using this PS in UHT milk. The novel ingredient should provide good organoleptic properties in milk, and it can be used in milk powder, too.

Robby Gardner
Associate Editor
Nutritional Outlook magazine
robby.gardner@ubm.com
 

Photo © iStockphoto.com/Danilin