Parmigiano Reggiano peptides and gut bacteria growth
What it found
In lab tests, peptides from digested Parmigiano Reggiano helped most lactobacilli and bifidobacteria grow more than a control.
Bifidobacteria also grew more in cultures of human gut bacteria.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Bacteria growth in lab
Most bifidobacteria and lactobacilli grew more on Parmigiano Reggiano digests than on a control peptone. But some strains, like most B. bifidum and B. animalis, grew better on the control.
Peptide use by bifidobacteria
Bifidobacteria consumed more peptides than lactobacilli. All strains consumed a core of 10 peptides with 4 or 5 residues, but preferences varied widely between strains.
Peptide use by lactobacilli
Lactobacilli behaved more similarly and mostly consumed the same 6 peptides, mainly dipeptides. They consumed fewer peptides overall than bifidobacteria.
Studies in people and animals
Human gut bacteria
In batch cultures of human gut bacteria, Parmigiano Reggiano digest increased the growth of bifidobacteria. Lactobacilli never rose above the detection limit.
Other findings
Peptides after digestion
Digestion broke down most original peptides and all intact proteins. It created 71 new peptides, all with 2 to 24 amino acid building blocks.
What the authors conclude
“This study demonstrated that peptides derived from simulated gastrointestinal digestion of PR supported the growth of most lactobacilli and bifidobacteria.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say the study shows that peptides from digested Parmigiano Reggiano supported the growth of most lactobacilli and bifidobacteria.
- They note that the interaction between specific peptides and gut bacteria is still largely unexplored and deserves deeper investigation.
- They state that the highly proteolytic environment and competition among other bacteria make it impossible to predict what happens in the body.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see if peptides from Parmigiano Reggiano could survive digestion and support beneficial gut bacteria like bifidobacteria and lactobacilli.
They simulated digestion of Parmigiano Reggiano aged 16, 24, and 36 months, then tested the resulting peptides as the only nitrogen source for 27 bifidobacteria strains, 30 lactobacilli strains, and batch cultures of human gut bacteria from three healthy adults.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a lab study using simulated digestion and cultured bacteria. It cannot show what happens in a person's gut after eating Parmigiano Reggiano.
- The digestion model did not include absorption in the small intestine, so it cannot show how many peptides actually reach the colon.
- The authors say the complex gut environment makes it impossible to predict the real effect in the body.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- University of Parma, Italy; University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy
The paper
- Title
- Characterization of the peptide fraction from digested Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and its effect on growth of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Bottari B, Quartieri A, Prandi B, et al (2017). Characterization of the peptide fraction from digested Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and its effect on growth of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria. International journal of food microbiology. doi:10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2017.05.015Free full textPubMed 28575713DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error