Application of β-cyclodextrin in the production of low-cholesterol milk and dairy products

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of mortality, especially in the developed world while long-term high cholesterol intake via foods is one of the most important risk factors of CVD. As milk and dairy products are rich in cholesterol and are consumed on a large scale, the production of low-cholesterol content products could decrease effectively high cholesterol intake what would be one of the critical steps in CVD prevention. Scope and approach: This review brings up-to-date complete information combining studies and patents data aimed at conditions enabling low-cholesterol milk and dairy production applying cyclodextrins as a selective tool for effective cholesterol removal. Key findings and conclusions: beta-cyclodextrin can effectively remove cholesterol from milk matrix up to 98% while nutritional, textural, and flavour characteristics of the products are not considerably affected and the application itself is easy, effective, low cost, and realisable on current technological production lines. So, while long-lasting consumption of low-cholesterol milk and dairy products can play a significant role in the decrease of CVD occurrence, production of these products should rise in the next years, which would be in line with current trends of functional foods consumer' interest.

Automated summary

Studies have shown that using cyclodextrins as a tool to remove cholesterol from dairy products can effectively achieve cholesterol removal up to 98%, without significantly affecting the nutritional, textural, and flavor characteristics of the products. The application is easy, cost-effective, and can be realized on current technological production lines.