Composition and characteristics of camel milk

Abstract

Introduction Present distribution and milk production Main components Gross composition Overall protein composition Casein fractions Size distribution of casein Whey protein fractions Lipids Fatty acid composition CONTENTS PAGE 603 604 605 605 606 607 609 611 612 612 Phospholipids Physical state and properties of fat globules Lactose Minerals and vitamins Enzymic coagulation Effects of heat on milk Antibacterial activity Conclusions References INTRODUCTION PAGE 613 614 616 616 617 620 623 623 624 Camels belong to the family Camelidae and thereby to the suborder Tylopoda. The tylopoda themselves belong to the order Artiodactyla or cloven-footed animals. The family of Camelidae contains the genera Camelus (old world camel) and Lama (new world camel). The Camelidae originated in North America where the earliest fossil remains of Camelidae have been found. The genus Camelus migrated from North America in the late Tertiary across the then existing land bridge to Asia and Africa. The llamas on the other hand reached South America in the ice age across the Central American land bridge. Included in the genus Camelus are the one-humped dromedary (Camelus dromedarius) and the two-humped bactrian (Camelus bactrianus). The term dromedary is derived from the Greek 'dromados' (run) and in the strict sense is used for riding camels. The name 'Bactrian' for the two-humped camel refers to the area ' Baktria' in North Afghanistan where this type of camel is thought to have originated. The dromedary is slim, long-legged, short-haired and has its habitat in warm arid and semi-arid areas. The bactrian is stockier, short-legged and has a thicker and longer coat than the dromedary. It mainly occurs in cold and mountainous areas (Simpson, 1945; Zeuner, 1963). This review is concerned entirely with the one-humped camel; the term ' camel' should therefore be taken to refer to Camelus dromedarius unless specifically stated otherwise. The majority of the studies conducted on camels concentrate on anatomical features, traditional management and physiological adaptation to desert conditions (Cauvet,

Comparison of composition and whey protein fractions of human, camel, donkey, goat and cow milk

“…The obtained results showed good correspondence with findings reported by Salimei et al (2004) and may be explained by the lower casein and phosphate contents than in ruminants' milk samples. Camel milk had the highest acidity (6.46±0.005), most probably due to high contents of vitamin C and certain organic acids (Farah, 1993). The observed acidity may inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria and contribute to the long-term preservation of camel milk.…”

Effect of Fortifying Camel Milk with Sheep Milk on the Processing Properties, Chemical Composition and Acceptability of Cheeses

“…The rennet coagulation of camel milk is two to four times slower than for cow's milk treated under the same conditions [3]. The limited ability of camel milk to be coagulated by enzymes is probably largely due to the composition of casein micelles, moreover the kappa casein, representing the micellar fraction which reacts with the clotting enzymes, has different electro-potential from cow's milk, which cause lower electrophoretic mobility [4]. Nevertheless, soft unripened cheese can be made from camel milk, and the difficulties in making camel cheese most probably arise from the technique which is being used [5].…”

“…Moreover the fortifying camel milk with sheep's milk at levels of 10 to 50 percent has a beneficial effect on coagulation and draining [12]. The limited ability of camel milk to be coagulated by enzymes is probably due to the composition of casein micelles as the kappa casein, representing the micellar fraction which reacts with the clotting enzymes, has different electro-potential from cow's milk, which causes lower electrophoretic mobility [4]. The low content of kappa-casein and its ratio to total proteins and the lack of ß-lactoglobulins are the main factors that limit cheese making performances from camel milk [9].…”

Nutritive Value and Characterization Properties of Fermented Camel Milk Fortified with some Date Palm Products Chemical, Bacteriological and Sensory Properties

“…[3] extracted Iysozyme (Lz), lactoferrin (Lf), lactoperoxidase (Lp), immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin A from camel milk. [14] reviewed the ability of camel milk to inhibit growth of pathogenic bacteria and its relations to whey lysozyme. The lysozyme content of twenty samples showing growth inhibition was 648 -956 g/100ml which was significantly higher than the average in 38 samples (62.8 -956 g/100ml) with no inhibitory effect.…”