About

Dr. Daniela Barile is a Professor and Chemist in the Food Science and Technology unit at the University of California, Davis. She holds a Ph.D. in Food Science from the University of Piemonte Orientale A. Avogadro, Italy, and an M.S. in Chemistry & Pharmaceutical Technology from the same university. Her research centers on the characterization, separation, and functional evaluation of small bioactive molecules in foods and agricultural by-products. Dr. Barile integrates advanced analytical chemistry techniques with food science to explore complex molecular systems, particularly glycans and peptides, within natural and processed food matrices. She leads a high-throughput analytical platform equipped with state-of-the-art instrumentation, including MALDI-TOF MS, chip-based LC-QTOF-MS, LC-QQQ-MS, and High-Performance Anion Exchange Chromatography with Pulsed Amperometric Detection. Her lab applies this platform to the sequential molecular deconstruction of food and agricultural streams such as grape pomace, pomegranate pomace, spent coffee grounds, and whey permeate, generating bioinformatic libraries of bioactive compounds and physicochemical conditions that promote their formation or preservation. Dr. Barile collaborates with investigators at UC Davis and internationally, serving as PI or co-PI on USDA funded projects. She also utilizes pilot-scale filtration equipment at the UC Davis Milk Processing Lab to produce novel bioactive fractions for in vitro and in vivo functional studies, supporting the development of prebiotics and other functional ingredients. Her research aims to enhance the value of commodity agriculture, improve food processing, and create new classes of functional foods through the structural characterization of glycosylated bioactives in industrial side-streams.

Research topics

• Biology
• Biochemistry
• Chemistry
• Food science
• Endocrinology
• Microbiology
• Immunology
• Genetics
• Medicine
• Chromatography
• Internal medicine

Selected publications

• UV-C processing of bovine milk: Dosage requirements for 5-log bacterial reductions and impact on the bioactive proteins

  Food Research International · 2026-03-21 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Thermal treatments are typically applied to milk to ensure microbial safety but can cause degradation of some bioactive proteins. Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) irradiation is an alternative treatment that can increase microbial safety and may better preserve some bioactive proteins. However, the effect of UV-C doses validated to provide ≥5-log reduction of bacteria in bovine milk on the preservation of bioactive milk proteins remains unknown. We determined the UV-C dose (fluence) required for ≥5-log inactivation of vegetative bacteria (E. coli O157: H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella Typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus) and bacterial spores (Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis) inoculated into raw bovine milk. We compared the retention of bioactive proteins (lactoferrin (Lf), immunoglobulin (Ig) G, IgM, IgA) after exposure to UV-C doses required for ≥5-log inactivation of vegetative bacteria and spores with commercially used high-temperature short-time (HTST) and ultra-high temperature (UHT) processing via ELISA. Achieving ≥5-log reductions of all four vegetative bacteria required 14 kJ/L (termed UV-1), whereas 40 kJ/L were required for ≥5-log reductions of all bacterial spores (termed UV-2). 14 kJ/L retained IgG at higher levels than HTST (p < 0.05) and preserved Lf and IgM at similar levels to HTST (p > 0.05), while IgA preservation was lower than HTST (50.6% vs. 62.0%; p < 0.05). 40 kJ/L resulted in improved preservation of all bioactive proteins tested compared with UHT. The findings establish that UV-C may be a promising approach for processing whole bovine milk, particularly for enhancing bioactive protein preservation after spore-reduction treatment compared with the current industry standard (UHT).

  PublisherDOI

• Extraction and characterization of bioactive oligosaccharides from pulse processing byproducts using subcritical water extraction: a proof-of-concept study

  Food Chemistry · 2026-04-12

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Milk fat-globules derived from whey protein phospholipid concentrate prevent high-fat diet induced cognitive impairment in wistar rats in a manner associated with increased brain neuronal connectivity and sphingolipid clearance

  Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy · 2026-02-16

  articleOpen access

  Whey protein phospholipid concentrate (WPPC), a co-product of whey protein processing, is enriched in milk fat globules containing phospholipids, glycoconjugates and sugar monomers (e.g. sialic acid) critical to myelin synthesis in the brain. We hypothesized that WPPC will prevent cognitive impairment induced by a high fat (HF) diet by promoting myelin turnover and improving neuronal connectivity between the entorhinal cortex-hippocampal circuitry involved in encoding memory. Rats were randomized from weaning to ∼6.5 months of age to the following diets: a low-fat (LF) diet containing 10 % fat by weight, a HF diet containing 45 % fat by weight to induce cognitive impairment, and a HF diet containing either 1.6 % (HF1.6) or 10 % (HF10) WPPC by weight (n = 12 per group). Rats received cognitive testing after 1.5 and 4 months of dietary intervention, then implanted with chronic bipolar electrodes to measure axonal evoked responses within the entorhinal cortex-hippocampal circuitry by stimulating the entorhinal cortex, measuring the half-max response in the hippocampus, and comparing the half-max response to a measurement made approximately one hour later (as a marker of memory storage potential). Hippocampal phospholipid and sphingolipid components of myelin were quantified. At 4 months, rats on the HF diet performed significantly worse on cognitive testing than rats on the LF, HF1.6 and HF10 diets. These effects were linked to slight improvements in the evoked response associated with hippocampal-dependent memory storage. Additionally, hippocampus sphingolipids were higher in rats on the HF diet compared to the LF, HF1.6 and HF10 groups. These findings demonstrate that WPPC prevented cognitive impairment induced by a HF diet by regulating entorhinal cortex-hippocampal circuitries associated with memory storage, through modulating myelin turnover.

  PublisherDOI

• Optimization of single- and dual-cycle high-pressure processing to process bovine milk for microbial safety and protein quality

  Journal of Dairy Science · 2025-10-01 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Bovine milk is a nutritionally rich fluid containing bioactive proteins that support immune function and growth. Traditional thermal pasteurization (72°C for >15 s) ensures microbial safety but degrades heat-sensitive proteins. High-pressure processing (HPP) offers a nonthermal alternative for microbial reduction, yet its effect on protein structure, particularly under applications of multiple pressure cycles, remains underexplored. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of single- and dual-cycle HPP treatments for bacterial inactivation and protein preservation in whole bovine milk and to compare these results with the industry standard-HTST processing. Raw bovine milk samples were inoculated with vegetative pathogens (Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus) or spores (Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis) and treated with varying HPP conditions (350-600 MPa; 4-12 min, at 30°C, for single or dual cycles). Microbial reduction was assessed by standard plate count. Whey protein retention (lactoferrin [LF], IgA, IgG, IgM) was quantified using ELISA and compared with HTST and raw milk controls. Dual-cycle HPP treatments significantly enhanced bacterial reduction compared with single-cycle time equivalents for S. aureus and B. subtilis, but not for L. monocytogenes or B. cereus. Treatments for S. aureus demonstrated 0.6 to 2.5 log reduction increases from single to dual cycles at pressures of 350 to 600 MPa. Although no tested treatments achieved >5-log reductions in sporulated B. subtilis, dual-cycles increased reductions by 1.2 log compared with single-cycle time equivalents. Several conditions achieved >5-log reductions for vegetative pathogens, including 600 MPa, 12 min, single cycle; 550 and 600 MPa, 4 min dual cycle, and 550 and 600 MPa, 6 min, dual-cycle. However, all HPP treatments led to substantial degradation of immunological proteins, particularly LF (53%-84% reduction), IgA (86%-95% reduction), and IgM (81%-98% reduction), with protein retention decreasing as pressure and cycle time increased. High-temperature, short-time processing preserved higher levels of native protein structure across all treatments.

  PublisherDOI

• Generation of novel prebiotic oligosaccharide pools from fiber drives biological insight in bacterial glycan metabolism

  Applied and Environmental Microbiology · 2025-02-06 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  ABSTRACT Prebiotic oligosaccharides are dietary supplements that modulate the intestinal gut microbiome by selectively nourishing subsets of the microbial community with a goal to enhance host health. To date, the diversity of polysaccharide compositions in the fiber consumed by humans is not well represented by the limited scope of oligosaccharide compositions present in current commercial prebiotics. Recently, our UC Davis group developed a novel method to generate oligosaccharides from any polysaccharide fiber, termed F enton’s I nitiation T oward D efined O ligosaccharide G roups (FITDOG). Using this method, sugar beet pulp (SBP) was transformed into sugar beet oligosaccharides (SBOs) composed of arabinose- and galactose-containing oligosaccharides. Fecal fermentations of SBO and SBP produced similar shifts in donor-specific bacterial communities and acid metabolite profiles with a general enrichment of Bacteroides and Bifidobacterium . However, in vitro tests revealed more Bifidobacterium strains could consume SBO than sugar beet arabinan, and specific strains showed differential consumption of arabinofuranooligosaccharides or galactooligosaccharide (GOS) portions of the SBO pool. Genomic and glycomic comparisons suggest that previously characterized, arabinan-specific, extracellular arabinofuranosidases from Bifidobacterium are not necessary to metabolize the arabino-oligosaccharides within SBO. Synbiotic application of SBO with an SBO-consuming strain Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum SC596 in serial fecal enrichments resulted in enhanced persistence among 9 of 10 donor feces. This work demonstrates a novel workflow whereby FITDOG creates novel oligosaccharide pools that can provide insight into how compositional differences in fiber drive differential gut fermentation behaviors as well as their downstream health impacts. Moreover, these oligosaccharides may be useful in new prebiotic and synbiotic applications. IMPORTANCE Prebiotics seek to selectively alter the host microbiome composition or function, resulting in a concurrent health benefit to the host. However, commercial prebiotics represent a small fraction of the diversity of food polysaccharide compositions. In this work a novel method, F enton’s I nitiation T oward D efined O ligosaccharide G roups (FITDOG) was used to generate an oligosaccharide pool from sugar beet pulp (SBP). Sugar beet oligosaccharides (SBOs) resulted in similar changes to SBP in fecal enrichments; however, SBO could be consumed by more beneficial bifidobacterial strains than the cognate polysaccharide. These results demonstrate how the details of glycan structure have a profound influence on how gut bacteria metabolize food carbohydrates. The implications of this work are relevant to understanding how different dietary sources influence the human microbiome and extend to developing novel oligosaccharide pools for prebiotic applications.

  PublisherDOI

• Phytochemical profiling of Thai plant-based milk alternatives: Insights into bioactive compounds, antioxidant activities, prebiotics, and amino acid abundance

  Food Chemistry X · 2025-03-19 · 9 citations

  articleOpen access

  This study compared the bioactive compounds, antioxidant activities, presence of prebiotic oligosaccharides, and amino acid profiles of six Thai plant-based milk alternatives: oat, yellow corn, tamarind seed, jackfruit seed, germinated red rice, and red rice milk. Among these six plant-based milks, oat milk exhibited the highest concentrations of amino acids and β-glucan. Jackfruit seed milk showed the closest resemblance to oat milk in terms of amino acid composition, suggesting its potential as a plant-based milk alternative. Tamarind seed milk demonstrated high levels of total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), antioxidant activity (measured by DPPH and FRAP), and presence of prebiotic oligosaccharides including raffinose, stachyose, and verbascose. Germinated red rice milk displayed significantly higher raffinose content compared to red rice milk. This investigation provides the first comprehensive report on the compositions of various Thai plant-based milks, highlighting their potential use in functional beverage development. • Comprehensive analysis of phytochemicals in six Thai plant-based milks. • Jackfruit seed milk showed amino acid profiles closely resembling oat milk. • Tamarind seed milk showed high TPC, TFC, antioxidant activity and oligosaccharides. • Prebiotic raffinose, stachyose, and verbascose varied across plant-based milks. • Germinated red rice milk contained significantly higher raffinose than red rice milk.

  PublisherDOI

• Whey Protein Phospholipid Concentrate Supplementation Prevents High-Fat Diet Induced Cognitive Impairment in Wistar Rats by Promoting Brain Neuronal Connectivity and Sphingolipid Clearance

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2025-04-30 · 1 citations

  preprintOpen access

  Abstract Whey protein phospholipid concentrate (WPPC), a byproduct of whey protein processing, is high in phospholipids and glycoconjugates which serve as substrates for fatty acids and sugar monomers (e.g. sialic acid) critical to neuronal myelin synthesis in the brain. This led us to hypothesize that WPPC will improve cognitive impairment induced by a high fat (HF) diet by promoting myelin turnover and improving myelin-dependent processes associated with encoding and storing memory. Male Wistar rats were randomized to one of four diets starting at weaning to ∼6.5 months on age: a low-fat (LF) diet containing 10% fat by weight, a HF diet containing 45% fat by weight to induce cognitive impairment, and a HF diet containing either 1.6% or 10% WPPC by weight (n=12 per diet). Rats were subjected to cognitive testing after 2 and 4 months of dietary intervention and then implanted with chronic bipolar electrodes to measure axonal evoked responses within the entorhinal cortex-hippocampal circuitry. Phospholipid and sphingolipid components of myelin were quantified in the hippocampus. There were no significant differences in cognition measured by novel object recognition after 2 months of supplementation. At 4 months, rats on the HF diet performed significantly worse than rats on the LF, HF1.6 and HF10 diets. The beneficial effects of WPPC on cognition were due to a partial reversal in evoked response impairments in hippocampal memory storage. Additionally, hippocampus sphingolipids were higher in rats on the HF diet compared to the LF, HF1.6 and HF10 groups. These findings demonstrate that WPPC prevented cognitive impairment induced by a HF diet by regulating entorhinal cortex-hippocampal circuitries associated with memory storage, though modulating myelin turnover.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A Milk Fat Globule Membrane-enriched dairy co-product modulates gut <i>Faecalibaculum rodentium</i> metabolism in association with the prevention of cognitive impairment in aging male Wistar rats

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2025-04-02 · 1 citations

  preprint

  Abstract Consumption of the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) by infants is linked to enhanced neurodevelopment and sustained cognitive improvements later in life. Aging, by contrast, is often marked by neurodegeneration and cognitive decline-a growing concern in the U.S. as 6.9 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). As such, identifying interventions to prevent cognitive impairment are imperative. The whey protein phospholipid concentrate (WPPC), a dairy co-product, is enriched in MFGM glycoconjugates. Given the cognitive health benefits conferred by MFGM consumption in early life, we previously found that high-fat (HF) diet induced cognitive impairment in aging male Wistar rats was prevented by supplementating with a 1.6% or 10% WPPC in the diet, compared to control rats fed a low-fat (LF) diet. We hypothesized that WPPC exerts protective effects against cognitive impairment through the gut-brain axis by modulating gut microbial composition and metabolism. To test this, we analyzed 16S rRNA sequencing data from fecal samples of aged male Wistar rat (4 months old) fed a LF, HF, HF + 1.6% WPPC, or HF + 10% WPPC diet (n=9-10/group). Compared to LF, the HF diet reduced the abundance of the Erysipelotrichaceae family, particularly the species Faecalibaculum rodentium , which increased numerically with the 10% WPPC diet. Interestingly, Erysipelotrichaceae relative abundance correlated with hippocampal memory storage (spearman correlation=0.4, p=0.034). In vitro growth assays confirmed that F. rodentium grew robustly in isolation on WPPC glycoconjugates and on constituent WPPC components (p&lt;0.05). RNA sequencing of F . rodentium grown on the WPPC MFGM glycoconjugates versus glucose (n=3/group) revealed significant upregulation of genes involved in in amino acid metabolism and fatty acid oxidation (FDR&lt;0.05). Collectively this data suggests a potential role for F. rodentium in preventing cognitive impairment through the gut-brain axis by metabolizing the WPPC that may act on the host.

  PublisherDOI

• The role of alpha-lactalbumin in modulating tryptophan metabolism and serotonin synthesis

  npj Science of Food · 2025-07-03 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Tryptophan, critical for infant neurodevelopment, is limited in infant formulas. Tryptophan-rich α-lactalbumin is abundant in human milk but limited in bovine milk, and its metabolism in developing infants remains unclear. We developed an α-lactalbumin-enriched formula and conducted a feeding study with neonatal piglets to comprehensively monitor tryptophan utilization across serum, urine, liver, and brain using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics. Enrichment of α-lactalbumin led to higher circulating tryptophan and increased serotonin levels in the striatum. It also increased metabolic products from the kynurenine and indole pathways, which were predominantly excreted in urine. Despite these increases, the activity of the kynurenine pathway in the liver was lower, possibly mediated by reduced circulating cortisol, thus increasing brain tryptophan availability and favoring serotonin synthesis. These findings provide mechanistic insights that can guide the development of infant formulas to better mimic the metabolic profile of breastfed infants.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Comprehensive carbohydrate profiling by mass spectrometry for the valorization of pomegranate side streams

  Food Chemistry · 2025-08-27 · 1 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Enzymatic modification of isolated bovine milk oligosaccharides to mimic human milk oligosaccharides with increased antimicrobial activity

  NIH · $150k · 2015–2016

Frequent coauthors

• David A. Mills

  39 shared

• J. Bruce German

  University of California, Davis

  36 shared

• Carlito B. Lebrilla

  University of California, Davis

  35 shared

• David C. Dallas

  Oregon State University

  34 shared

• Randall C. Robinson

  University of California, Davis

  30 shared

• Juliana María Leite Nobrega de Moura Bell

  University of California, Davis

  25 shared

• Nicola L. B. Pohl

  Indiana University Bloomington

  16 shared

• Yong‐Su Jin

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  16 shared

Awards & honors

• 2014: UC Davis Dean's Team - Award for Excellence for Outsta…
• 2017: UC Davis - Chancellor's Fellow
• 2020: UC Davis Chancellor's Innovation Awards - Innovator of…
• 2022: World's Top 2% Scientists