Table 6.

Whey intervention trials involving older individuals with sarcopenia. LST: Lean soft tissue; IL-6: Interleukin 6; TNF-α: Tumor necrosis factor alpha; CRP: C reactive protein; BIA: Bio-Impedance Analysis; IL-1Ra: Interleukin 1 receptor antagonist; IL-8: Interleukin 8; RSMI: Relative muscle mass index; IGF-1: Insulin-like growth factor 1; IL-2: Interleukin 2; TWEAK—Tumor necrosis factor-like WEAK inducer of apoptosis; IL-18 Interleukin 18; SPPB: Short Physical Performance Battery. * power calculation to determine number of subjects was performed.

Cohort	Whey Source, Dosage, Duration	Outcome of Whey Supplementation	Reference
n = 26 ≥ 60 years, females sarcopenic obesity—fat mass ≥35% & appendicular lean soft tissue ≤15.02 kg Randomised, double blind, placebo controlled	16 weeks 35 g hydrolysed whey protein (Lacprodan, Arla Foods) Exercise = chest press, horizontal leg press, seated row, knee extension, preacher curl, leg curl, triceps pushdown, and seated calf raise Whey n = 13	↑ LST V maltodextrin and time zero ↓ Total LST, relative total fat mass and trunk fat mass V maltodextrin ↓ Number of sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity V time zero ↓ Blood IL-6 V time zero and maltodextrin ↑ Knee extension, chest press, preacher curl, total strength V time zero but no difference to maltodextrin ↓ Blood TNF-a, CRP, advanced oxidation products V time zero but not maltodextrin ↑ Blood total radical trapping antioxidant potential V time zero but not maltodextrin	[92]
* n = 297 aged ≥ 65 years, males and females Sarcopenic subjects: BIA < 37% in men and <28% women Randomised double blind isocaloric controlled.	13 weeks 20 g whey protein, 3 g total leucine, and 800 IU vitamin D Whey n = 137	↑ IL-6, IL-1Ra & CRP for control (31.4 g of carbohydrates) and supplemented groups V time zero ↓ IL-8 V time zero	[93]
n = 60 aged 60–85 years, males and females Sarcopenic subject: RSMI < 5.7 kg/m2 for women and <7.0 kg/m2 for men Double blind randomized controlled	6-month 22 g whey protein plus vitamin D (702 IU) & E (109 mg) per serving Whey n = 30	↑ Appendicular muscle mass, RSMI, handgrip strength, IGF-1 V isocaloric placebo (32.4 g of carbohydrates, 2.6 g of fat) ↓ IL-2 V isocaloric placebo No difference TNF-a, IL-6, CRP V isocaloric placebo or time zero ↓ Time to stand V isocaloric placebo	[94]
* n = 112 males & females, n = 56 sarcopenic aged 72.05 ± 6.54, n = 56 non sarcopenic aged 65.24 ± 4.05 Sarcopenia subjects: RSMI 7.0 kg/m2 men, 5.4 kg/m2 women	12 weeks 30 g of whey with 3.84 g total leucine. (Lacprodan, Arla Foods) Exercise = 5 min warm-up, 20 min muscle strength training, and 5 min slow walking	Sarcopenic group: ↑ muscle mass V time zero ↓ TWERK, TNF-α and IL-18 V time zero. ↑ IGF-1 V time zero	[95]
* n = 380 aged > 65 years, males & females Sarcopenia = SPPB score between 4–9 and a skeletal muscle index of ≤37% in men and ≤28% in women Randomised, double-blind, controlled	13 weeks Leucine (3 g) enriched whey protein (20 g) Whey n = 184	↑ IGF-1, V time zero.↓ in IGF-1 for control group (isocaloric product) V time zero ↓ Chair stand test time and gait speed V time zero for both test and control groups ↑ SPPB score V time zero for both test and isocaloric product	[96] [97]