Parmigiano Reggiano peptides and their absorption in lab gut models
What it found
Lab digestion of Parmigiano Reggiano released small protein fragments that can lower blood pressure, and two of them crossed a model of the human gut lining.
All tests were done in lab dishes, not in people.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Stronger enzyme blocking
The concentration needed to block half of the target enzyme dropped from 7.92 micrograms per mL before digestion to 3.20 micrograms per mL after digestion. This means the digested cheese blocked the enzyme more strongly.
Crossing the gut cell layer
After one hour on human gut cells in a dish, 0.6% of the LHLPLP piece crossed the cell layer intact. A smaller piece called HLPLP crossed at a higher rate of 2.9%. No other intact pieces made it across.
Other findings
Peptides in undigested cheese
Before digestion, four blood-pressure-lowering protein pieces were found in the cheese. Their total amount ranged from 8.46 to 21.55 mg per kg of cheese.
More peptides after digestion
Lab digestion released much larger amounts of these protein pieces. One piece called LHLPLP reached between 1,880 and 3,053 mg per kg, while the others together made up 69.24 to 82.82 mg per kg.
What the authors conclude
- They report that digesting Parmigiano Reggiano both creates and breaks down certain protein pieces that can block a blood-pressure-raising enzyme.
- They note that some of these protein pieces can pass partly intact across a lab model of the human gut lining.
- They say these findings offer useful clues for studying whether eating this cheese might affect blood pressure.
How it was done
Some small protein pieces found in cheese can block an enzyme that raises blood pressure. The authors wanted to see if these pieces exist in Parmigiano Reggiano, if stomach digestion releases more of them, and if they can cross the gut wall.
They tested six samples of 12-month-old Parmigiano Reggiano from different dairies. They put the cheese through a lab simulation of stomach and gut digestion. Then they placed the digested liquid on a layer of human gut cells grown in a dish for one hour to see what passed through.
What it can’t tell you
- All tests used lab simulations of digestion and cells grown in dishes, so they cannot show what happens when people eat this cheese.
- The study measured how much of these protein pieces crossed a cell layer, but it did not measure any actual change in blood pressure.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Università della Tuscia-Viterbo, Italy; Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy
The paper
- Title
- Release of angiotensin converting enzyme-inhibitor peptides during in vitro gastrointestinal digestion of Parmigiano Reggiano PDO cheese and their absorption through an in vitro model of intestinal epithelium
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Basiricò L, Catalani E, Morera P, et al (2015). Release of angiotensin converting enzyme-inhibitor peptides during in vitro gastrointestinal digestion of Parmigiano Reggiano PDO cheese and their absorption through an in vitro model of intestinal epithelium. Journal of dairy science. doi:10.3168/jds.2015-9801Free full textPubMed 26364103DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error