Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 3 complete abstracts (598 words), 9 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
Raw and processed or manufactured milk and milk-derived products. These are usually from cows (bovine) but are also from goats, sheep, reindeer, and water buffalo.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Dairy Product; Product, Dairy; Products, Dairy.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 121,652 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Dairy Products” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 27,458 of them (22.6%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is through 1999 with 41,290 records.
Reviews account for 10,071 records (8.3%) and meta-analyses for 851. Randomized controlled trials number 4,907 (4.0%) as a share of all records on the topic.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 41,290 |
| 2000-2009 | 20,430 |
| 2010-2019 | 32,474 |
| 2020 onward | 27,458 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 10,071 | 8.3% |
| Meta-analyses | 851 | 0.7% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 4,907 | 4.0% |
Method: PubMed query "Dairy Products"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in anatomy and physiology
Anatomy describes how body structures are built and physiology describes how they normally work, so most findings here are descriptive or mechanistic rather than evidence about treatment. Much of what is known comes from dissection, imaging, tissue studies and experiments in animals, and measurements in healthy volunteers can differ from those in people with disease or at different ages. Normal ranges vary between individuals and populations. Check whether a result was measured in people or in another species, the age and health of the participants, and the method used.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Machine learning-assisted paper-based chemiluminescence biosensor for choline quantification in infant milk: toward portable nutritional quality monitoring | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 3 | cc by PMID 42049827 · DOI · PMC13282409 |
| Human milk oligosaccharide mediates mutualism between Escherichia coli and Bifidobacterium bifidum | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 2 | cc by PMID 42020426 · DOI · PMC13103366 |
| Milk-derived peptone reduces EHEC virulence by inhibiting the type III secretion system | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 1 | cc by PMID 42700384 · DOI · PMC13556935 |
Machine learning-assisted paper-based chemiluminescence biosensor for choline quantification in infant milk: toward portable nutritional quality monitoring [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Choline is a critical micronutrient that is involved in neurotransmission, lipid metabolism, and neurodevelopment of infants.
- Closing excerpt
- This point-of-care testing (PoCT) biosensing tool, enriched with an ML algorithm, therefore, increases nutritional surveillance functions, especially in resource-limited environments, and contributes to adherence to the infant food safety protocols..
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (209 words)
Choline is a critical micronutrient that is involved in neurotransmission, lipid metabolism, and neurodevelopment of infants. Poor consumption of choline in the initial stages of growth might lead to severe cognitive and developmental defects. Hence, there is a need to constantly monitor choline level in infant food. To meet this requirement, we present a low-cost paper-based luminol cobalt chemiluminescense (PLC-CL) biosensor with the potential to analyze choline in milk and in real-time using smartphone imaging and machine learning (ML) algorithms. The sensing platform works for the detection of the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) which is generated through the use of choline oxidase (ChOx), and then the produce a luminol-cobalt chemiluminescent reaction, where the intensity of the emitted light is directly proportional to the concentration of choline. ML models quantify light intensity, and are highly accurate without the need to use standard methods of calibration. This device has a linear dynamic range of 0.5-10 mM and a detection limit of 257.12 µM, thus it is useful in quantification in real time and can also be used in the real field envirnoment. This point-of-care testing (PoCT) biosensing tool, enriched with an ML algorithm, therefore, increases nutritional surveillance functions, especially in resource-limited environments, and contributes to adherence to the infant food safety protocols..
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42049827 · DOI · PMC13282409
Human milk oligosaccharide mediates mutualism between Escherichia coli and Bifidobacterium bifidum [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Infant gut microbiota development involves frequent colonization by Enterobacteriaceae, particularly Escherichia coli, yet their ecological role in healthy infants is unclear.
- Closing excerpt
- coli abundance within the infant host.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (151 words)
Infant gut microbiota development involves frequent colonization by Enterobacteriaceae, particularly Escherichia coli, yet their ecological role in healthy infants is unclear. Here, we analyse longitudinal stool samples from healthy, term-born, breastfed infants (n = 41) and related mothers (n = 30) using shotgun metagenomics and novel computational approaches. Strain-resolved profiling indicates that Bifidobacterium species are frequently shared within families, whereas E. coli derive from external sources, but often persist within individuals. Despite differing ecological strategies, these genera co-exist and share evolutionary adaptations related to lactose acquisition in the infant gut. In vitro, we demonstrate that interactions between E. coli and Bifidobacterium bifidum are mutualistic in co-culture, where E. coli supplies cysteine to its auxotrophic partner, facilitating cooperative degradation of 2'-fucosyllactose, the predominant human milk oligosaccharide. In turn, the liberated monosaccharides sustain E. coli growth, highlighting a cooperative cross-feeding interaction that may contribute to regulating E. coli abundance within the infant host.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42020426 · DOI · PMC13103366
Milk-derived peptone reduces EHEC virulence by inhibiting the type III secretion system [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- The link between diet and overall human health is well established, with certain diets known to promote better health and be associated with a reduced risk of developing chronic diseases.
- Closing excerpt
- While the specific inhibitory components in casein remain to be identified, our findings provide a foundation for developing casein-based, non-antibiotic therapies against bacterial diarrheagenic pathogens.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (238 words)
The link between diet and overall human health is well established, with certain diets known to promote better health and be associated with a reduced risk of developing chronic diseases. Previous research has also demonstrated the direct effects of diet on microbiome composition, diversity, and fitness, which can, in turn, alter colonization resistance and the immune response against enteric pathogens. However, much less is known regarding the direct effect of diet on the virulence of pathogenic bacteria. To examine the effect of diet on bacterial virulence while maintaining constant macronutrient composition, we used peptones from different sources (plant- and animal-based) to simulate various dietary protein sources. The peptones were examined for their effect on the virulence of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC). We found that bacteria grown with peptone derived from casein - the main protein component of milk - exhibit a significant reduction in their type III secretion system (T3SS) activity. This effect manifested as a significant reduction in bacterial adherence to host cells and limited translocation activity of the T3SS effector Tir. We additionally found evidence suggesting that milk-derived peptone causes a shift in bacterial behavior from hyper-virulent, adherent bacteria to a more motile state. Finally, we observed that the inhibitory effects of milk-derived peptone extend beyond EHEC to other T3SS-possessing pathogens. While the specific inhibitory components in casein remain to be identified, our findings provide a foundation for developing casein-based, non-antibiotic therapies against bacterial diarrheagenic pathogens.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42700384 · DOI · PMC13556935
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Breast-feeding and cognitive development: a meta-analysis [4]
- Research article A systematic review and meta-analysis of the nutrient content of preterm and term breast milk [5]
- Research article A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Human Milk Feeding and Morbidity in Very Low Birth Weight Infants [6]
- Research article Dairy products and the risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of cohort studies [7]
- Research article Consumption of dairy foods and diabetes incidence: a dose-response meta-analysis of observational studies [8]
- Research article Dairy products and colorectal cancer risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies [9]
References
- Zalke JB, Kaushik V, Singhal CM, Kulkarni MB, Bhaiyya M. Machine learning-assisted paper-based chemiluminescence biosensor for choline quantification in infant milk: toward portable nutritional quality monitoring. . 2026. PMID 42049827 · DOI · PMC13282409
- Seki D, Pollak S, Kujawska M, Kiu R, Acuna-Gonzalez A, Crouch LI, et al.. Human milk oligosaccharide mediates mutualism between Escherichia coli and Bifidobacterium bifidum. . 2026. PMID 42020426 · DOI · PMC13103366
- Braverman D, Batushansky A, Sal-Man N. Milk-derived peptone reduces EHEC virulence by inhibiting the type III secretion system. . 2026. PMID 42700384 · DOI · PMC13556935
- Anderson JW, Johnstone BM, Remley DT. Breast-feeding and cognitive development: a meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999. PMID 10500022 · DOI
- Gidrewicz DA, Fenton TR. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the nutrient content of preterm and term breast milk. BMC Pediatr. 2014. PMID 25174435 · DOI · PMC4236651
- Miller J, Tonkin E, Damarell RA, McPhee AJ, Suganuma M, Suganuma H, et al.. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Human Milk Feeding and Morbidity in Very Low Birth Weight Infants. Nutrients. 2018. PMID 29857555 · DOI · PMC6024377
- Aune D, Norat T, Romundstad P, Vatten LJ. Dairy products and the risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of cohort studies. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013. PMID 23945722 · DOI
- Gijsbers L, Ding EL, Malik VS, de Goede J, Geleijnse JM, Soedamah-Muthu SS. Consumption of dairy foods and diabetes incidence: a dose-response meta-analysis of observational studies. Am J Clin Nutr. 2016. PMID 26912494 · DOI
- Aune D, Lau R, Chan DSM, Vieira R, Greenwood DC, Kampman E, et al.. Dairy products and colorectal cancer risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. Ann Oncol. 2012. PMID 21617020 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-10-31; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-10-31.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.