Medicinal value of camel milk and meat

Abstract

Camel 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.ARTICLE HISTORY

A Comparative Analysis of Factors Influencing Two Outbreaks of Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in Saudi Arabia and South Korea

“…Another major difference between South Korea and Saudi Arabia remains usage and presence of dromedary camels. A large proportion of Saudi Arabian citizens utilize on dromedary camels for entertainment (the greatest example being races, held often in the region), meat, and milk, though this may vary depending on whether the location is rural or urban [59][60][61]. While other livestock have been found to transmit MERS-CoV or have the potential to, camels are the only currently cited animal source of transmission to humans [33].…”

Near-Newtonian Blood Behavior – Is It Good to Be a Camel?

“…For centuries, camels and horses have been used for comparable purposes. They transport loads, their dairy products and meat are food sources in several countries (Abrhaley and Leta, 2018; Ugwu et al, 2019), and they are used for riding and competitive racing. When performing exercise, cardiovascular regulatory mechanisms attempt to meet the rising oxygen demand of the muscle cells by an increase of blood flow, both, systemically through enhanced cardiac output, and locally through the metabolic and mechanical responses of the vascular wall to adjust the vessel diameter.…”

Influence of management type and stage of lactation on the performance and milk fatty acid profile of dairy camels (Camelus dromedaries)

“…The observed depression of milk fat at mid-lactation herein consequently contradicts such a tentative recommendation. In fact, camels’ milk appears to be healthier for human consumption in terms of levels of VA, RA, unsaturated fatty acids and health-promoting indices, when compared to those observed in cows’, ewes’ or goats’ milk produced under similar circumstances (McGuire and McGuire, 2000; Agrawal et al 2005, Sboui et al 2010; Abrhaley and Leta, 2018).…”

“…Camel milk has actually been proposed as a beneficial substitute for humans’ and cows’ milk for premature new-born and milk-allergic children because of the lack of β-lactoglobulin and beta casein, in addition to its comparably smaller nanobodies (Shabo et al 2005; Zafra et al 2011). Furthermore, a considerable amount of research has been published indicating the potential therapeutic employment of camel milk for treating many dysfunctions and autoimmune diseases such as diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, obesity, atherosclerosis, oxidative stress, hepatitis B, Crohn's disease, autism and cancer (Corl et al 2003; Lock & Bauman, 2004; Agrawal et al 2005, Sboui et al 2010; Diaz-Medina et al 2016; Abrhaley and Leta, 2018), which reflects a growing interest in utilizing camels’ milk for human nutrition.…”