Using milk protein concentrates as an ingredient to enrich some milk-based food products

Article Open access Published: 06 October 2026 Scientific Reports ( 2026 ) Cite this article We’re sharing this article early to provide faster access to peer-reviewed, accepted research. It is citable and carries a permanent DOI. This version is subject to further edits and will be replaced automatically by the final Version of Record. All legal disclaimers apply. Abstract Milk protein concentrates (MPC) is a nutritious food with a high protein content, which emphasizes the importance of including it into our daily foods such as snacks (which are preferred by a wide range of consumers, especially children). Therefore, the main aim of this study was to use MPC during processing of milk-based food products such as low-fat ice cream (LFIC) and gluten-free biscuits (GFB). These products were selected due to their popularity between children; in addition, LFIC may be suitable for obese children, while GFB convenient for celiac patients, which provides a broader understanding of protein enrichment in different food systems. This study assessed the impact of MPC incorporation on the physicochemical and sensory attributes of LFIC, and changes in LFIC quality were also monitored during storage (− 18 °C) for 30 d. The control LFIC mix was manufactured without MPC, while MPC was added (%w/w) in other treatments at 3, 6, and 9%. The results showed that MPC addition significantly ( P < 0.05) increased density and weight per gallon. Although overrun and protein content (4.58–7.46%) increased in frozen LFIC, carbohydrate content decreased. The microstructure of LFIC containing 3% MPC showed better air bubble distribution than other treatments. By the end of storage period, the LFIC sample with 3% MPC recorded the highest flavor and overall acceptability scores. Furthermore, this study assessed the impact of MPC incorporation on the physical properties, chemical composition and microstructure of GFB. The control GFB was manufactured without MPC, while MPC was added (%w/w) in other treatments at 17.45 and 34.9%. MPC addition increased biscuit thickness, while spread ratio decreased, and microstructure was improved with MPC substitution. Moisture, protein, ash, and phosphorus increased with MPC addition, whereas fat, carbohydrates decreased significantly. Moreover, the sample containing 34.9% MPC recorded the highest levels of histidine, phenylalanine, lysine, threonine, valine, leucine, and isoleucine when compared with the control. We concluded that using MPC can be used effectively in LFIC manufacturing to enhance protein content and maintain desirable physical and sensory properties, while MPC addition to GFB caused an improvement in the nutritional quality of the final product, which could help some of celiac patients who suffer from nutrient malabsorption. Funding This study received non external funding. Author information Authors and Affiliations Dairy Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University, Assiut, 71515, Egypt Dalia G. Kamel Dairy Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Al-Azhar University, Assiut, Egypt Mahmoud A. Ahmed & Ali I. A. Mansour Valley Queen Cheese Factory, Milbank, SD, 57252, USA Mohamed Salem Elfaruk Medical Technology College, Nalut University, Nalut, 00218, Libya Mohamed Salem Elfaruk Animal Sciences and Industry Department, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA Ahmed R. A. Hammam Food Science and Technology Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University, Assiut, 71515, Egypt Asmaa Mohamed Abdel-Rahman Authors Dalia G. Kamel Mahmoud A. Ahmed Ali I. A. Mansour Mohamed Salem Elfaruk Ahmed R. A. Hammam Asmaa Mohamed Abdel-Rahman Corresponding author Correspondence to Asmaa Mohamed Abdel-Rahman . Ethics declarations Competing interests The authors affirm no conflict of interest. Ethics approval and consent to participate This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Faculty of Agriculture at Assiut University (ref. No. 03-2025-0036), confirming that it complies with the ethical guidelines for scientific research, including the principles outlined in the declaration of Helsinki. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants (Faculty members of Dairy Science Department et al.-Azhar University) included in the study. The participants were clearly informed about the purpose, the procedures involved, potential risk and benefits before participation. Besides, their privacy was respected throughout the study. Additional information Publisher's note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Rights and permissions Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Reprints and permissions About this article Cite this article Kamel, D.G., Ahmed, M.A., Mansour, A.I.A. et al. Using milk protein concentrates as an ingredient to enrich some milk-based food products. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-71002-6 Download citation Received : 04 February 2026 Accepted : 07 September 2026 Published : 06 October 2026 DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-71002-6 Keywords