Cancer remains a primary global health concern, with treatment-related side effects and malnutrition posing significant challenges to patient care and recovery. In recent years, there has been growing interest in the therapeutic potential of functional food components, especially whey proteins (WPs), due to their notable antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and anticancer properties. This systematic review explores the effects of WPs across various cancer types and assesses their value as supportive nutritional agents. A thorough literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases, identifying 24 relevant studies published between 2000 and 2024. The selection process followed PRISMA guidelines. The evidence, drawn from both laboratory and clinical research, suggests that WPs may exert anticancer effects by inhibiting tumor cell growth, promoting apoptosis, enhancing antioxidant defenses, modulating immune activity, and influencing signaling pathways such as the PI3K/Akt, mTOR, and Wnt/β-catenin pathways. Colorectal, breast, and liver cancers emerged as the most extensively studied types. Additionally, the form of WP used—whether concentrate, isolate, or hydrolysate—appeared to influence both biological activity and clinical outcomes. Clinical findings suggest that WP supplementation may support nutritional status, mitigate the adverse effects of chemotherapy, and enhance the quality of life in cancer patients. While the preclinical data are compelling, further high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these benefits and determine optimal use in clinical practice. This review highlights WPs as promising, well-tolerated nutritional agents with potential to enhance current cancer care strategies.

Postbiotics are defined as preparations of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confer a health benefit on the host. Although interest in postbiotics has increased substantially, their translational use in functional foods remains insufficiently characterized with respect to preparation identity, production methodology, food-matrix compatibility, mechanistic specificity, and regulatory positioning. This PRISMA-guided structured review aims to synthesize current evidence on postbiotics in functional food and nutraceutical contexts, with particular emphasis on preparation-based characterization, gut–brain axis-related mechanisms and clinical findings, food matrix applicability, and regulatory and health-claim considerations. Unlike broader postbiotic reviews that mainly address definitions, general health effects, or technological stability, this review integrates preparation identity, production process, gut–brain axis-related evidence, food matrix compatibility, and regulatory/health-claim translation within a single functional food framework. A structured literature search was conducted in Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection and was completed on 16 February 2026. The search strategy included three conceptual blocks: postbiotic and inactivation-based preparation terms, functional food/nutraceutical and food matrix terms, and gut–brain axis-related clinical and mechanistic terms. Cosmetic, topical, veterinary, animal feed, and aquaculture-focused publications were excluded. The export files contained 131 records from Scopus and 136 from the Web of Science Core Collection, yielding 267 records after applying document-type and language filters. After manually removing duplicates, 237 unique records were screened. Following title/abstract screening, 176 records were excluded as outside the scope of the review, and 61 publications were retained for full-text assessment and final thematic synthesis. The review was reported according to applicable PRISMA 2020 items. The evidence was organized into three thematic domains: gut–brain axis-related clinical findings, mechanistic evidence, and food matrix/product development applications. Heat-inactivated preparations, including Lactobacillus gasseri CP2305 and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum SNK12, have shown preliminary effects on stress-related symptoms, sleep quality, and selected neuroendocrine or inflammatory biomarkers in human studies. Mechanistic pathways include gut barrier integrity, immunomodulation, short-chain fatty acid signaling, tryptophan–kynurenine–serotonin metabolism, vagal communication, and regulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. Food matrix studies support the potential application of postbiotics in fermented dairy products, cereal-based systems, plant-based matrices, powders, concentrates, and bioactive packaging; however, matrix-dependent effects on bioavailability, sensory quality, and biological activity remain incompletely defined. Postbiotics provide a stable translational platform for functional-food development, but their scientific and commercial use requires clear characterization of the microbial source, production process, inactivation method, retained active fractions, dose metric, delivery matrix, and clinically meaningful endpoint. Future studies should avoid broad category-level claims and prioritize preparation- and matrix-defined human evidence with standardized safety reporting.

This study investigated the physicochemical properties of non-fat yogurt produced with 0.5% fruit seed extracts, including those from date, rosehip, black grape, pomegranate, and grapefruit. The analysis focused on the yogurt samples' pH, titration acidity, total phenolic compound, and antioxidant capacity using various methods (DPPH, ABTS, CUPRAC, and FRAP) and sensory analysis. The results revealed that the functional properties of yogurt could be enhanced by adding fruit seed extracts, with black grape seed extract showing a particularly positive effect on the phenolic components. Moreover, adding date palm seed extract and rosehip seed extract resulted in higher DPPH radical scavenging activity than the other samples. Based on the CUPRAC and FRAP methods, yogurt with date seed extract exhibited the highest antioxidant activity. In contrast, the ABTS method indicated that the yogurt samples containing black grape seed extract and rosehip seed extract exhibited the most significant antioxidant activity. Overall, the antioxidant activity of the yogurt samples with added fruit seed extracts was significantly higher than that of the control sample. Additionally, differences in antioxidant activity among the yogurt samples were observed based on the method used for measurement. This study indicates that yogurt can be developed as a functional product featuring bioactive components, such as antioxidants and phenolics, by enhancing its technological properties by incorporating fruit seed extracts.

This comprehensive study investigates the complex realm of encapsulation techniques and bioactive ingredients, particularly in the context of sustainable foods, through a detailed bibliometric analysis that captures the essence and evolution of research in this crucial field. We compiled a substantial dataset of 218 bibliographic records from the esteemed Web of Science, Scopus, EBSCOhost, and Google Scholar databases using carefully chosen keywords. This meticulous process included analyzing the contributions of various authors and exploring intricate relationships among keywords, citation impact, country involvement, and influential journals. This analysis creates a detailed map of research progress, illuminating contemporary scientific trends, notable advancements, and significant gaps in existing knowledge. Current research efforts can be categorized into three interconnected areas: the examination of various encapsulation techniques and the physicochemical properties of wall materials that contain bioactive compounds; the investigation of innovative technologies that enhance encapsulation processes, such as nanotechnology and microencapsulation; and the growing research connecting sustainable food practices to better human health outcomes. With a forward‐thinking perspective, future research should focus on discovering novel encapsulation techniques and conducting in‐depth studies on wall materials that enhance bioavailability. This would unlock the potential benefits for human health and ultimately guide sustainable practices in the food industry.