Paneer whey is a nutrient-rich dairy by-product generated during paneer manufacture that contains valuable proteins, lactose, minerals, and bioactive compounds. Despite its high nutritional value, a considerable quantity of paneer whey is discarded, leading to environmental pollution and loss of recoverable nutrients. The present study aimed to comparatively characterize buffalo and cow paneer whey based on their physicochemical and nutritional properties and to evaluate their potential utilization in functional food development.

Fresh paneer whey obtained from buffalo and cow milk was analyzed for pH, titratable acidity, moisture, total solids, protein, fat, lactose, and ash using standard analytical methods. The comparative evaluation demonstrated noticeable compositional differences between the two whey types. Buffalo paneer whey exhibited higher pH (5.48) and lower titratable acidity (0.42%) than cow paneer whey (pH 5.32 and 0.46% acidity). Moisture content was higher in cow paneer whey (94.41%) than in buffalo paneer whey (93.15%), whereas buffalo paneer whey contained greater total solids (6.85%) compared with cow paneer whey (5.59%). Similarly, buffalo paneer whey showed higher protein (0.92%), fat (0.65%), lactose (4.69%), and ash (0.59%) contents than cow paneer whey, which contained 0.74% protein, 0.31% fat, 4.54% lactose, and 0.48% ash, respectively.