Composition, nutritional and therapeutic values of goat milk: A review

Abstract

Goat is one of the main contributors of milk and meat products. Goat milk is different from cow and human milk in composition, nutritional and therapeutic attributes. The compositional differences are of significance in indicating the technological suitability for goat milk processing and its products. The differences in composition of cow milk and goat milk may result into the products with different sensory characteristics, nutritional and therapeutic values. Goat milk contains higher amount of Ca, Mg and P than cow and human milk but vitamin D, vitamin B 12 and folate contents are less. Goat milk is recommended for infants, old and convalescent people. Three fatty acids viz., caproic, caprylic and capric have great medicinal values for patients suffering from a variety of ailments. Further, it is worthwhile to compare the milk of goats with that of cows and note benefits or limitations which may result from differences found. Goat milk products other than cheese and pasteurized milk are considered to be the diary products with greatest marketing potential. Therefore, several characteristic of goat milk are currently the focus of increased research interest. Fermented goat milk incorporating live probiotic cells represent a group of products with great prospects in the future with regard to their nutritive and therapeutic properties.

Performance of Skim Goat Milk Mineral Content Subjected to the Block Freeze Concentration Process

“…As observed by Ceballos et al [5], Yadav, Singh, and Yadav [7], and Campos et al [33] in the present work it is possible to note that main elements contents of skim goat milk are higher than cow milk. Finally, in a near future, the results obtained from the block freeze concentration process of skim goat milk mineral content performance could be used by dairy industries to produce nutritive products with high mineral contents without mineral supplementation, which would affect positively the economic and the nutritive value of milk products.…”

“…Minerals content of Ca, P, K, Na and Mg were higher than those reported by Balde and Aider [20] during the block freeze concentration of skim cow milk. This behavior could be related to the fact the goat milk present some mineral contents in larger amounts than cow milk [5][6][7]. Efficiency of the process (%)…”

“…Goat milk has high added value because it is a source of nutritional compositional of excellent quality, including the quantity of minerals [3,4]. Goat milk present some major and minority minerals in larger amounts than cow milk [5][6][7]. Minerals are fundamental for human health, as they are required for many physiological functions such as tissue growth, regulation of enzyme activities, blood clotting, and to facility of membrane transport of essential nutrients [8,9].…”

Nutritional and Health Profile of Goat Products: Focus on Health Benefits of Goat Milk

“…Goat and cow milk differ essentially in their casein micelles (structure, composition, and size), the proportion of individual protein fractions and higher content of nonprotein nitrogen and mineral compounds found in goat milk. [24]).…”

“…Although αS2-casein is relatively higher in goat milk, the αS1 fraction of cow milk alone is higher than both the αS1 and αS2-casein fractions present in goat milk. These differences might help explain the soft curd-forming properties of goat milk, as well as its better digestibility and the lower frequency of allergic reactions in children [24].…”