Potential anticarcinogenic peptides from bovine milk.

Bovine milk possesses a protein system constituted by two major families of proteins: caseins (insoluble) and whey proteins (soluble). Caseins (αS1,αS2,β, andκ) are the predominant phosphoproteins in the milk of ruminants, accounting for about 80% of total protein, while the whey proteins, representing approximately 20% of milk protein fraction, includeβ-lactoglobulin,α-lactalbumin, immunoglobulins, bovine serum albumin, bovine lactoferrin, and lactoperoxidase, together with other minor components. Different bioactivities have been associated with these proteins. In many cases, caseins and whey proteins act as precursors of bioactive peptides that are released, in the body, by enzymatic pro…