Abstract
ABSTRACTCamel milk and meat are good source of nutrients for the peoples living especially in the arid and urban areas. Camel milk and meat are unique from other ruminant’s milk and meat in terms of composition as well as claimed health effects. Camel milk has low cholesterol, high minerals (sodium, potassium, iron, copper, zinc and magnesium) and high vitamin C when compared with other ruminant milk. Camel milk contains various fatty acids, enzymes and protective proteins. Camel milk has potential therapeutic effects, such as antibacterial, antiviral, antidiabetic, anti-ageing and anticarcinogenic. The medicinal properties of camel milk can be attributed to the presence of protective proteins, which may possibly play a pivotal role for the enhancement of immune defence mechanism. Not only camel milk, but also camel meat in general, is considered a functional food for cures and remedy for many ailments such as seasonal fever, sciatica, shoulder pain, asthma, removing freckles and for improved performance, in many cultures around the world. Therefore, it is important to illustrate the overview of compositions and medicinal values of camel milk and meat.
Highlights
Significant numbers of studies have been conducted to determine the therapeutic properties of camel milk
Antibacterial and antiviral activities of the protective proteins of camel milk were studied by ElAgamy et al (1992)
Camel milk has insulin-like activity, regulatory and immunomodulatory functions on β-cells
Summary
Camels are multipurpose animals; they are used for milk, meat and hide supply, as well as for other purposes such as transport, entertainment, celebration and competition as in racing and beauty show. Camel milk is still the most important nutritional source for pastoralists in many African and Asian countries (Valérie 2007). The medicinal property of camel milk was reported three decades back by Yagil (1982). Camel milk has insulin-like activity, regulatory and immunomodulatory functions on β-cells It exhibits hypoglycaemic effect when given as an adjunctive therapy, which might be due to the presence of insulin/insulin-like protein in it, and possesses beneficial effect in the treatment of diabetic patients. Camel meat is relatively high in polyunsaturated fatty acid in comparison to beef (Dawood and Alkanhal 1995; Al-Ani 2004). This is an important factor in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, which is related to saturated fat consumption. To illustrate scientific evidences on the therapeutic effect of camel milk and meat
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