Immunomodulatory properties of milk

There is increasing commercial interest in the production of functional foo dstuffs which have health-promoting properties, Over the last five to ten y ears, significant progress has been made in the identification and characte risation of bovine milk components that can affect the function of the immu ne system. This review outlines the major components of bovine milk that ha ve been shown to modulate immune function, and discusses experimental appro aches to the identification of various facets of the immune response that a re known to be affected by milk-derived proteins.