The impact of dromedary camel milk on mice gut microbiota

Abstract

The gut microbiota plays an important role in the health and disease resistance of the host. Host health depends on the microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract, and imbalance in its composition may leads to certain diseases. This study analyzed the influence that dromedary camel milk has on the gut microbiota of mice. This study characterized the bacterial populations of untreated [Control (C) and camel milk-treated Raw (R), Pasteurized (P), and Fermented (F)] C57BL/6 J mice feces using high-throughput 16S rDNA sequencing on the Illumina MiSeq platform. In total, 286,606 tags were generated, with an average of 71,651 tags being generated per group, and these tags were clustered to the operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at 97% sequence similarity, resulting 1090 OTUs. Significant weight gain was observed among all of the groups, and the total cholesterol level declined in F group followed by in group P compared to group C. The F and P groups demonstrated a correlation between the beneficial microbiota structures that corresponded with lower cholesterol levels than those observed in the other groups. The major dominant bacteria correspond to the phyla Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. The dromedary camel milk propagated the beneficial bacteria (Allobaculum and Akkermansia) and reduced harmful bacteria such as Proteobacteria, Erysipelotrichaceae, and Desulfovibrionaceae. This study provides a comparative analysis of the gut microbiota of mice based on camel milk, which may be helpful in understanding host health and diverse gut microbial conditions.