Taherah Mohammadabadi *

Professor, Faculty of Animal Science and Food Technology, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University, Iran

*Corresponding Author: Taherah Mohammadabadi, Professor, Faculty of Animal Science and Food Technology, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University, Iran.

Received: April 22, 2024; Published: August 01, 2024

Citation: Taherah Mohammadabadi. “Composition and Therapeutic Properties of Camel Colostrum”. Acta Scientific Veterinary Sciences 6.9 (2024): 01-02.

Introduction

Colostrum is an essential source of nutrients and immunosuppressants for newborns. Camel colostrum contains less lactose and fat and more proteins, peptides, vitamins, and minerals than other animal colostrum. Camel colostrum is produced in the first week for five days; the change phase lasts two days, then from the seventh day, the secretion is considered mature milk [1]. The major proteins in camel colostrum are immunoglobulins (IgG1, IgG2, IgG3), camel serum albumin, lactoferrin, and α-lactalbumin. Camel colostrum contains antimicrobial agents which actively stimulate the camel calf’s immune system [2].  Colostrum is characterized by very high levels of immunoglobulin, transmitted immediately after delivery from the mother’s colostrum to the infant, born without immunoglobulin in the blood, thus creating passive immunity.

Composition of camel colostrum

Proteins, especially immunoglobulins G (IgG), are the main components of colostrum. The IgG content must be high enough to insure adequate immunization. The mean lactoferrin in two hump camels’ colostrum was more than three times that of whole milk samples [3].  The highest insulin concentration was at 0 hours after calving. It was the highest, then reached 367.5 ± 286.1 μmol/mL in 24 hours, 20% of the initial rate [4]. Camel colostrum is rich in fatty acids with potential health benefits such as oleic acid, vaccenic acid and CLA. Camel colostrum can be used instead of cow’s milk in the production of human infant formula because cow’s milk is poor in oligosaccharides [5].

Therapeutic properties of camel colostrum

One hump colostrum has been shown to have vigorous antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes. The high lactoferrin content can explain this in one hump colostrum [6]. In addition to antimicrobial activity, one hump camel colostrum has shown antihypertensive and antioxidant activity. These activities are improved after digestion in the gastrointestinal tract and intestines. Bioactive peptides derived from colostrum proteins of one hump camel have various biological functions such as antioxidant, anticancer activity, anti-hypotension, opioid activity, mineral binding, stimulating growth, and anti-inflammatory activities. Camel colostrum is the best diet compared to other species because it contains the highest healthy fatty acids such as oleic acid, vaccenic acid, and rumenic acid  [7].

Camel lactoferrin has antimicrobial activity on various infectious agents such as bacteria, molds, and viruses, anti-cancer, and antioxidant activities [8].  α-lactalbumin is involved in the apoptosis of tumor cells and the trapping of free radicals. Nutritionally, this protein contains essential amino acids and exceptional amounts of tryptophan, cystine, and lysine [9].

Bibliography

1. El-Hatmi H., et al. “Camel (Camelus dromedarius) immunoglobulin G, α-lactalbumin, serum albumin and lactoferrin in colostrum and milk during the early post-partum period”. The Journal of Dairy Research3 (2006): 288-293.
2. Konuspayeva G., et al. “Physiological change in camel milk composition 1- Effect of lactation stage”. Tropical Animal Health and Production 42 (2009b): 495-499.
3. Konuspayeva G., et al. “Lactoferrin and Immunoglobulin contents in camel’s milk (Camelus bactrianus, Camelus dromedarius, and Hybrids) from Kazakhstan”. Journal of Dairy Science1 (2007): 38-46.
4. Soliman N and Elmetwaly HA. “Milk insulin content of Egyption lactating camels”. International Journal of Food and Nutritional Science2 (2018): 1-8.
5. Fukuda K. “Camel Milk”. Milk and Dairy Products in Human Nutrition: Production, Composition and Health (2013): 578593.
6. Benkerroum N., et al. “Antimicrobial activity of camel’s milk against pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogene”. International Journal of Dairy Technology1 (2004): 39-43.
7. Jrad Z., et al. “Effect of digestive enzymes on antimicrobial, radical scavenging and angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitory activities of camel colostrum and milk proteins”. Dairy Science and Technology 94 (2014): 205-224.
8. El-Hatmi H., et al. “Characterisation of whey proteins of camel (Camelus dromedarius) milk and colostrum”. Small Ruminant Research 2-3 (2007): 267-271.
9. Redwan ERM and A Tabll. “Camel lactoferrin markedly inhibits hepatitis C virus genotype 4 infection of human peripheral blood leukocytes”. Journal Immunoassay Immunochem 28 (2007): 267-277.

Copyright: © 2024 Taherah Mohammadabadi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.