Nutritional and Therapeutic Characteristics of Camel Milk in Children: A Systematic Review

Abstract

IntroductionCamel milk is the closest to a human mother’s milk. Camel milk is different from other milks, however, having low sugar and cholesterol, high minerals (sodium, potassium, iron, copper, zinc and magnesium, and vitamin C). The milk is considered have medicinal characteristics as well. This systematic review is aimed at determining and reporting nutritional values and medicinal characteristics of camel milk in children.MethodsThe search strategy of the current review is “(camel AND milk) AND (autism OR food allergy OR milk allergy OR children OR diarrhea.” The search was conducted via PubMed, Scopus, and Google scholar. Also two Persian scientific databases (SID and Iranmedex) and international congresses were investigated. Full-text papers and abstracts on the topic of camel milk, evaluating nutritional value and medicinal properties, were included in this systematic review.ResultsOut of the 472 records found in the resources, 35 related studies were included in the final analysis. The result showed that camel milk is highly nutritious and is safe for consumption by children.ConclusionIt seems that many researchers did not follow a specific guideline for reporting and confirming the therapeutic properties of camel milk in children, but there is evidence denoting the importance, trials, and investigations of its usability and benefits. Camel milk as a supplemental treatment seems less invasive and costly than specialist care, medications, alternative treatments, and behavioral interventions. Based on our findings, camel milk is safer for children, effective in the treatment of autism, improves general well-being, promotes body natural defenses, is a good nutritional source, and can helps the daily nutritional needs of humans.

Bacterial isolates exhibiting multidrug resistance, hemolytic activity, and high 16S rRNA gene similarity with well‐known pathogens found in camel milk samples of Riyadh region

“…A few samples show a bit higher values, which may be due to the experimental error. Previously published studies show that the camel milk sugar content ranges between 2.91 g and 4.12 g per 100 g of milk . Total solids were in a range of 7.6–11.7 g per 100 g of milk with an average of 10.4 ± 1.0 per 100 g of milk (Table , Fig.…”

“…Although camel milk only accounts for 0.2% of the global milk production, camels are an important source of milk in Gulf and North African countries as they can easily survive in the hot weather and in scarcity of water and feed . It is argued that camel milk has a greater nutritional value as it contains less fat, contains higher quantities of nutrients and vitamins, and has a composition closer to human milk . Owing to the nutritional value and due to the customary consumption of camel milk, its demand in the region and elsewhere is rising continuously .…”

Analyses of physicochemical properties, bacterial microbiota, and lactic acid bacteria of fresh camel milk collected in Inner Mongolia

“…Camel milk has been part of the daily diet of nomadic people for centuries, and it has good nutritional and medicinal properties (Yagil, 1982;Shabo et al, 2005). Its biochemical composition is close to that of human milk, and it has a relatively low fat content and is rich in vitamins (Zibaee et al, 2015). Moreover, camel milk contains all the essential nutrients needed for human, so it can serve as an alternative to bovine milk (Shamsia, 2007;El-Agamy et al, 2009;Bulca, 2017).…”

“…Moreover, camel milk contains all the essential nutrients needed for human, so it can serve as an alternative to bovine milk (Shamsia, 2007;El-Agamy et al, 2009;Bulca, 2017). One additional advantage is its low allergenicity (Teply, 1965;Zibaee et al, 2015).…”

Camel Milk with Pegylated Interferon Alfa-2a and Ribavirin for Treatment-Naive Chronic Hepatitis C Genotype 2/ 3: An Open-Label, Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Besides, the side effects of these drugs and ban on their use in some patients have made the treatment of hepatitis C difficult. Therefore, the introduction of new, safe, and effective drugs with no side effect for this disease could be considered (5,6).…”