Researchers at the Universidade de São Paulo's School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, working within the FAPESP-funded Food Research Center and with Argentina's reference centre for lactobacilli, have developed a fermented milk drink that does more than deliver nutrients: it appears to prime the body to use them. Made from whey and grape by-product extract and fermented by probiotic microorganisms that raise its natural folate content, the beverage was tested in cultured human intestinal cells and in mice.
In the cell experiments, reported in Food Bioscience, the drink increased the expression of genes responsible for folate transport and for the vitamin D receptor compared with untreated controls. In the animal study, mice placed on a folate-deficient diet for 21 days were divided into six groups, and those receiving the bio-enriched beverage were protected from signs of folate deficiency. Intriguingly, the deficient diet itself significantly reduced vitamin D receptor expression in the colon, hinting at crosstalk between the two vitamins.
The work sits at the useful intersection of nutrition science and the circular economy, converting dairy and winemaking by-products into a functional food. Absorption may have been limited by the milk matrix, and the authors suggest reformulating with less whey ahead of further animal studies and eventual clinical trials. If confirmed in humans, bio-enrichment of everyday drinks could offer an inexpensive route to better micronutrient status in populations where deficiency persists.