# Composition and properties of camel milk

Gaukhar Konuspayeva, Bernard Faye

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Gaukhar Konuspayeva, Bernard Faye. Composition and properties of camel milk. Journal of the Global Food Regulatory Science Society, 2025, 1 (2), pp.11-16. hal-05359796

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# Composition and Properties of Camel Milk

Gaukhar Konuspayevaᵃ,*, Bernard Fayeᵇ,\*

## Abstract

Many references are published almost every month to vent the health claims of camel milk, attributing to it many “therapeutic virtues” without a critical investigation. However, camel milk cannot be considered as a medicine because it is first and foremost a food, even if some health effects and undeniable dietetic properties can be attributed to some of its components, such as fats, proteins, minerals and vitamins.

**Keywords:** camel milk, composition, protein, fat, vitamins

## Introduction

A number of review papers and even sometimes “review of reviews,” repeating the same references and often published by “predator editors,” are emphasizing the health effects of a regular consumption of camel milk (for example, the more recent, Mohammad abadi, 2020; Seifu, 2022; Muthukumaran et al., 2023). However, camel milk is firstly a food (sometimes qualified as “superfood”; see Mustafa et al., 2023) and not a “medicine” substituting medical treatment.

## The Gross Composition of Camel Milk

Compiling published data from 82 references on the gross composition of camel milk, Konuspayeva et al. (2009) reported values (in g/100 mL) of 3.82 ± 1.08 for Fat Matter (FM), 3.35 ± 0.62 for total proteins (TP), 4.46±1.03 for lactose, 12.47 ± 1.53 for Dry Matter (DM) and 0.79 ± 0.09 for ash. Later, adding some new references (n=121) published between 1905 and 2019 (Konuspayeva, 2020), the mean reported values were 3.68±1.00 for FM, 3.28±0.59 for TP, 4.47±0.66 for lactose and 0.81±0.19 for ash with DM varying between 8.25 and 16.70% (mean=12.2±1.62 %). Finally, the gross composition appeared comparable to that of cow milk.

In the meta-analysis achieved by Al-haj et al (2022) by compiling the composition of 7298 camel milk samples, relatively comparable values were reported: 3.47 % for fat, 3.17% for total protein, 4.38% for lactose, and 0.78% for ash, the total solids being 11.31% on average. Later, another meta-analysis was achieved regarding total caloric count of camel milk, which is linked to its global composition (Al-Haj et al., 2024).

<footnote>ᵃ Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 71 avenue Al-Farabi, 050040 Almaty, Kazakhstan.</footnote>

<footnote>ᵇ Center of International Cooperation on Agriculture Research for Development–CIRAD, UMR SELMET, Campus International de Baillarguet, CEDEX 5, 34398 Montpellier, France.</footnote>

<footnote>\* Correspondence: konuspayeva@sfrhmail.fr, bjfaye50@gmail.com</footnote>
However, the gross composition cannot explain by itself the “therapeutic properties” of camel milk systematically highlighted by several reviews. Indeed, the particularities of this milk are in the fine composition.

## Fine Composition

Regarding the fine composition, the specificities of camel milk are in the fatty acid composition, cholesterol content, type of proteins, lactose metabolites, major and trace minerals, and vitamins.

Fat matter in camel milk contains higher proportion of unsaturated fatty acids (FA), notably medium chain, compared to other milk (Dreiucker and Vetter, 2011; Wang et al., 2022). Its atherogenicity index (2.7) is lower than in cow milk (Konuspayeva et al., 2008) and, consequently, is regarded as more beneficial for the human diet, contributing to decrease the risk of cardiovascular failure (Dowelmadina et al., 2019). The FA composition can be modulated by the diet (Faye et al., 2013) and could vary according to the management system (Chamekh et al., 2020), the intensive system being less beneficial due to lower contents of total Conjugated Linoleic (CLA), Rumenic, Vaccenic, linoleic, α-linolenic, and other polyunsaturated FA compared to less intensive management. The question of cholesterol content in camel milk is, at reverse, controversial as it was emphasized by Faye et al., (2015a). The ratio cholesterol/fat seems comparable to that of cow milk (Faye et al., 2015b). So, the content in cholesterol should be more important in high-fat milk from Central Asia and less in low-fat milk samples from other parts of the world (Konuspayeva et al., 2008).

The part of caseins (CN) in total proteins is 76% only, i.e. less than in cow milk (82%), and the distribution of the different types (αs1, αs2, β, κ) is quite different from cow milk (Kappeler et al., 1998). The absence of β-lactoglobulin and the low concentration of αS1-CN in camel milk are highlighted in most of the references to state that there is no allergy for consumers; these 2 proteins being the most important milk allergen in cow milk (Monaci et al., 2006). Yet, some cases of allergy with camel milk were described, provoking cutaneous urticaria and/or angioedema and even anaphylaxis (Ehlayel and Bener, 2018). Thus, it is not correct to consider that camel milk never provokes allergy, despite its interest in consumers specifically allergic to β-lactoglobulin. Moreover, camel milk is characterized also by the presence of two specific proteins, namely Whey Acidic Protein (WAP) and Peptidoglycan-recognition protein (PGRP). WAP is contributing to the regulation of the proliferation of mammary epithelial cells and could have a bacteriostatic activity (Ryskaliyeva et al., 2019) while PGRP, a pathogen recognition protein, has also antimicrobial and immunostimulant properties (Kappeler et al., 2004; Maurya et al., 2023). The proteomic composition of dromedary, Bactrian and hybrid camel milk was investigated recently,
showing a high complexity with the presence of 1010 functional groups of proteins. Among them, 893 were common to the three species, 31 were unique to Bactrian, 5 to dromedary and 12 to hybrids (Ryskaliyeva et al., 2018). Globally, these proteins are divided in four groups, including caseins, whey proteins, proteins of the fat globule membrane and enzymes.

The mineral composition of camel milk is not fundamentally different from cow milk. Regarding main minerals, there are relatively more Na and Cl, compared to cow milk, notably due to the frequent feeding in salty ranges rich in halophytes (Abu El-Ezz et al., 2015). In contrast, comparative studies led to the conclusion that main minerals such as Ca, P and Mg are in lower concentrations in camel milk compared to cow, goat, sheep, or buffalo milk (Al-Wabel, 2008; Chen et al., 2020; Al-Haj et al., 2022; Khaldi et al., 2022).

Camel milk is poor in vitamin A and in carotenoid pigments (pro-vitamin A). With a range of 50 to 390 µg/L, the concentration is lower on average than cow, goat, sheep and buffalo milk (Claeys et al., 2014; Singh et al., 2017; Siddiqui et al., 2023). If the richness in vitamin C is currently evoked regarding camel milk, its richness in vitamin D is less reported and the references are scarce. Yet, milk from camel contains 8 times more vitamin D than milk from cow, 15.6 ng/mL vs 1.78 ng/mL on average (Sboui et al., 2016). Moreover, the concentration is stable all along the lactation (Zhang et al., 2005).

## Conclusion

In conclusion, camel milk stands between traditional legends of medicinal attributes and modern development as a food. It is true that camel milk possesses specific components that contribute to its classification as a functional food. However, further studies are needed to explore the impact of geographical, physiological, and genetic factors. It is also important to consider farm management and processing conditions.

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