Important bioactives carnitine and betaine in milk and dairy products: a systematic review based on text mining and topic analysis

A systematic review traced the evolution of research on carnitines and betaines in milk and dairy products. A bibliometric search of the Scopus® database, using keywords such as “milk/dairy products and biomolecules”, “milk/dairy products and carnitine/betaine” retrieved 1.965 publications spanning January 1970 to December 2024. After screening, 179 records were selected for analysis. The most recurrent terms were “metabolit” “cow” and “infant”, highlighting the role of milk in the human diet. Topic analysis identified three main themes: Topic 1 grouped studies on metabolic regulation in ruminants and the diet-driven modulation of the milk metabolome; Topic 2 grouped studies on carnitine and betaine as conditionally essential nutrients in early-life nutrition and infant development; Topic 3 grouped studies on dairy bioactives as nutraceuticals in adult chronic disease prevention and therapy. This systematic review recognized the main research themes on the bioactive properties of carnitine and betaine and identified gaps in knowledge and areas for future basic and translational research on the functional role of these bioactives in human and animal health.