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-The fatty acid composition and cholesterol content of 22 camel's milk samples from different regions of Kazakhstan were determined, in different seasons and with different camel species (Bactrian, dromedary and hybrids). Camel milk fat differed from mammalian fats by its high content of the long-chain fatty acids C14:0, C16:0, C18:0 and C18:1. Great differences in fatty acid composition occurred between regions. Short-chain fatty acids (C8:0 and C10:0) were in higher proportion in spring and long-chain fatty acids (C17:0 and C17:1) in autumn. Dromedary milk had a higher proportion of C17:0iso and C18:1 than Bactrian milk. The ratio of unsaturated/saturated acid was more favorable in camel's milk compared with that of cows or other mammalians. All of these parameters gave a nutritional advantage to camel's milk, although it had a higher content of cholesterol (37.1 mg·100 g −1 ) than cow's milk. Multivariate analysis allowed the identification of four types of fatty acid profiles with a clear opposition between the samples rich in short-chain fatty acids and the samples rich in long-chain fatty acids. These results confirmed that environmental and farming conditions allowed modulation of the lipid composition of camel's milk.

Lactoferrin (Lf) and IgG were estimated in camel's milk from Kazakhstan, where 2 species of camels (Camelus bactrianus, Camelus dromedarius) and their hybrids cohabit. The concentrations of Lf and IgG were determined according to 3 variation factors: region (n = 4), season (n = 4), and species (n = 5; sample 4 was mixed milk and sample 5 was of unknown origin). The mean values in raw camel's milk were 0.229 +/- 0.135 mg/mL for Lf concentration and 0.718 +/- 0.330 mg/mL for IgG concentration. The seasonal effect was the only significant variation factor observed, with the highest values in the spring for Lf and in the winter for IgG. The Lf concentration varied in 1-wk postpartum milk from 1.422 to 0.586 mg/mL. The range in IgG concentration was wide and decreased from 132 to 4.75 mg/mL throughout the 7 d postpartum, with an important drop after parturition. In fermented milk, the lactoproteins are generally hydrolyzed. For milk samples from undefined species, discriminant analyses did not allow the origin of the species to be determined. A slight correlation between Lf and IgG concentrations was observed in raw milk. The values were slightly higher than those reported in cow's milk, but this difference was insufficient to attribute medicinal virtues to camel's milk.

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Camel milk is a newcomer to domestic markets and especially to the international milk market. This recent emergence has been accompanied by a diversification of processed products, based on the technologies developed for milk from other dairy species. However, technical innovations had to be adapted to a product with specific behavior and composition. The transformation of camel milk into pasteurized milk, fermented milk, cheese, powder, or other products was supported, under the pressure of commercial development, by technological innovations made possible by a basic and applied research set. Some of these innovations regarding one of the less studied milk sources are presented here, as well as their limitations. Technical investigations for an optimal pasteurization, development of controlled fermentation at industrial scale, control of cheese technology suitable for standardized production, and improvements in processes for the supply of a high-quality milk powder are among the challenges of research regarding camel milk.

The Camelidae family comprises the Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus), the dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius), and four species of South American camelids: llama (Lama glama), alpaca (Lama pacos) guanaco (Lama guanicoe), and vicuña (Vicugna vicugna). The main characteristic of these species is their ability to cope with either hard climatic conditions like those found in arid regions (Bactrian and dromedary camels) or high-altitude landscapes like those found in South America (South American camelids). Because of such interesting physiological and adaptive traits, the interest for these animals as livestock species has increased considerably over the last years. In general, the main animal products obtained from these animals are meat, milk, and hair fiber, although they are also used for races and work among other activities. In the near future, climate change will likely decrease agricultural areas for animal production worldwide, particularly in the tropics and subtropics where competition with crops for human consumption is a major problem already. In such conditions, extensive animal production could be limited in some extent to semi-arid rangelands, subjected to periodical draughts and erratic patterns of rainfall, severely affecting conventional livestock production, namely cattle and sheep. In the tropics and subtropics, camelids may become an important protein source for humans. This article aims to review some of the recent literature about the meat, milk, and hair fiber production in the six existing camelid species highlighting their benefits and drawbacks, overall contributing to the development of camelid production in the framework of food security.Access provided by Universidade de Lisboa, member of B-on Consortium Portugal

-In Kazakhstan, the cohabitation of Bactrian camels, dromedaries and their hybrids is a common feature even within farms. The physico-chemical composition of 147 milk samples from 57 Bactrians, 70 dromedaries and 20 hybrids was determined. The samples came from 4 different regions and were collected at 4 different seasons within a year. Compared with dromedary, Bactrian camel milk had significantly higher fat (6.67 vs. 5.94%), vitamin C (177 vs. 152 mg·L −1 ), calcium (1.30 vs. 1.16 g·L −1 ) and phosphorus (1.07 vs. 0.91 g·L −1 ). The iodine index value was significantly higher in dromedary (16.69) than in Bactrian milk (14.99). To distinguish Bactrian milk from dromedary milk, a discriminant analysis was carried out after discarding seasonal and regional variability. The discriminant parameters were phosphorus (linear discriminant coefficient = -1.00), pH (-0.408), vitamin C (-0.377) and fat content (-0.226), in higher concentrations in Bactrian than in dromedary milk. The iodine index (0.287) was higher in dromedary milk. After quadratic discriminant analysis, milk composition can predict species, with 75.4% well-classed. The milk composition of the hybrids was intermediary but with a low discriminant power. Bactriane (14,99). Afin de distinguer les deux types de lait, une analyse discriminante a été mise en oeuvre après avoir éliminé les effets liés à la variabilité saisonnière et régionale. Les paramètres discriminants sont le phosphore (coefficient linéaire discriminant = -1,00), le pH (-0,408), la vitamine C (-0,377) et la matière grasse (-0,226), en concentrations plus élevées dans le lait de Bactriane que dans celui de dromadaire. L'indice d'iode (0,287) était plus élevé dans le lait de dromadaire. Après une analyse discriminante quadratique, on peut prédire d'après la composition du lait, l'origine spécifique avec un pourcentage de bien classés de 75,4 %. La composition chimique du lait des hybrides s'est avérée intermédiaire mais avec un faible pouvoir discriminant.lait de dromadaire / hybride / Bactriane / analyse discriminante

The transfer of POPs in food of animal origin has been studied by a meta-analysis of 28 peer-reviewed articles using transfer rate (TR) for milk and eggs and bioconcentration factors (BCF) for eligible tissues after establishing an adapted methodology. TRs of the most toxic PCDD/Fs into milk were generally elevated and even higher into eggs. BCFs in excreting adult animals varied widely between studies complicating to hierarchize tissues or congeners, even if liver and fat seemed to bioconcentrate more than lean tissues. Short time studies have clearly shown low BCFs contrarily to field studies showing the highest BCFs. The BCFs of PCDD/Fs in growing animals were higher in liver than in fat or muscle. In contrast to easily bioconcentrating hexachlorinated congeners, octa-and heptachlorinated congeners barely bioconcentrate. PCB transfer into milk and eggs was systematically high for very lipophilic congeners. Highly ortho-chlorinated PCBs were transferred >50% into milk and eggs and even >70% for congeners 123 and 167 into eggs. BCFs of the most toxic PCBs 126 and 169 were significantly higher than for less toxic congeners. BCFs seem generally low in PBDEs except congeners 47, 153 and 154. DDT and its metabolites showed high bioconcentration. Differences between tissues appeared but were masked by a study effect. In addition to some methodologic recommendations, this analysis showed the high transfer of POPs into eggs, milk and liver when animals were exposed justifying a strong monitoring in areas with POP exposure.