Nebraska research aims to boost milk as infection fighter

April 22nd, 2020

Milk does a body good, as the saying goes, and Nebraska scientists are exploring how to make it even healthier by enhancing its infection-fighting properties.

"We know that different parts of a person’s diet can have potential impacts on their microbiome, and this may influence susceptibility to infections with different gastrointestinal pathogens,” said Jennifer Auchtung, one of the main investigators on a new research project led by the Nebraska Center for the Prevention of Obesity-Related Diseases. “One of the questions we asked was whether the molecules that are found in dairy products, especially milk, can change the microbiome and influence this susceptibility to infections.”

Auchtung, assistant professor of food science and technology, is working with lead investigator Janos Zempleni, professor of nutrition and health sciences, on a four-year research project, funded by a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, to study how milk enhances or diminishes pathogenic bacteria.

For full news story click here

Story by Dan Moser | Research and Economic Development