Camel Gelatin Composition, Properties, Production, and Applications

Gelatin is an important protein produced through partial hydrolysis of collagen from animal parts and byproducts such as cartilage, bones, tendons, and hides. The ability of gelatin to form a thermo-reversible gel at normal body temperature and high water content make it an exceptional food ingredient. A good quality gelatin is translucent, brittle, colorless (sometimes slightly yellow), bland in taste, and odorless. Gelatin has been found useful as stabilizer and filler in dairy products and other food industries. Recently, the global gelatin production net over 300,000 metric tons: 46% were from pigskin, 29.4% from bovine hides, 23.1% from bones, and 1.5% from other parts. Although camels have been recognized as source of meat and milk, utilization of camel bones and skins for gelatin production has not been fully explored. This chapter will discuss the processing of camel gelatin extraction.

Interaction Between Camel Farming and Environment

The close adaptation of camel to its desert environment could explain its weak expansion out of the arid lands of the world. This adaptation can contribute to the desertification combat, attesting to its small ecological footprint with traditional extensive farming. The camel population in the world, despite its active growth, remains marginal, and its contribution to the greenhouse gas emission is negligible. However, the current trends to the intensification of camel productions could change the impact of the species on the environment and on animal metabolism. The necessity to expect a better productivity face to the growing demand could lead to a “specialization” of the camel farms and a specific selection of the camel. Such trends require care with a possible erosion of the camel biodiversity and the consequences on the interactions between the emerging camel production system and the environment.

Camel Meat Nutrient Content and Potential Health Benefits

Camels are an important source of nutritious meat and meat products for people, and therefore play a major role in the national economies of many countries. In comparison with other red meats, camel meat generally contains less fat and ash, more moisture, and similar protein content. Camel meat products are receiving worldwide interest owing to its unique healthy features and the ability of camels to thrive in climatic regions of the world that may be a challenge to many other meat-producing species. Camel meat products contain many essential nutrients and some components with potential bioactive properties that could be beneficial for human health and wellbeing. Continued improvements in the understanding and optimization of the production processes of camel meat are required for successful industrial implementation and marketing. Advances in ingredient systems may be used to manufacture new meat products from camel meat where higher levels of nutrition are required to enhance consumer health and wellbeing. Camel meat as a functional food is one area that can be exploited.

Camel Meat Production, Structure, and Quality

This chapter aimed to discuss population, meat production, and quality characteristics of camels. Camels are considered environmentally friendly and well adapted to the desert's harsh arid and semiarid environment due to their high movability, adequate fodder demand, and water regulation. Camels are most populous in the East Africa and Middle East. Although approximately 250,000 camels are annually slaughtered in many countries and camels as a producer of meat is becoming much more significant, camel meat market has not yet developed. In 2019, the global camel meat production in Africa was leading with 419,933 tonnes production, followed by Asia (210,000 tonnes) and Europe (179 Tonnes). An important feature that characterizes camelid meat products is the low level of intramuscular and subcutaneous fat compared to red meat sources. Pre- and post-mortem factors should be carefully considered to improve camel meat quality characteristics. According to the health aspects and quality of camel meat, it can be successfully marketed alongside cattle, dear, sheep, and goat.

Camel Milk Composition and Nutritional Value

If gross composition of camel milk is roughly comparable to cow milk, fine composition shows significant differences explaining potential health benefit for regular consumers. The main particularities of camel milk are (1) better atherogenicity index thanks to its higher proportion of mono-unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids compared to other milks, (2) different proportion of caseins than cow milk leading to difficult clotting, (3) lack of β-lactoglobulin, often responsible for cow milk allergy, (4) slightly higher concentration in antibacterial and immunity support proteins with higher bio-activity than in other milk, (5) presence of WAP (whey acidic protein) and PGRP (peptidoglycan-recognition protein) not available in cow milk, (6) probable efficient insulin for supporting better glycemia regulation, (7) better metabolization of lactose leading to lower intolerance in consumers, (8) richness in sodium and iron compared to other milks, and (9) contrasted values of vitamins (less vitamins B, high quantity of vitamins C and D). This chapter explores camel milk composition and nutritional value.

Camel Milk Disguised Cosmeceutical

This chapter conveys the untapped property of camel milk as cosmeceutical. The camel milk ingredients (i.e., water, ascorbic acid, alpha hydroxy acid, polyunsaturated fatty acid, peptides, and micronutrients) make it a cost-effective cosmeceutical with no adverse cutaneous or systemic reactions. It may be used as a photoprotective, moisturizing, anti-wrinkle, anti-aging skin softener. The bioactive ingredients may begin the new class of natural cosmeceutical when consumed orally or applied topically.

Effects of Industrial Processing Methods on Camel Milk Composition, Nutritional Value, and Health Properties

Camel milk has a comparable gross composition with other milk sources including bovine milk with some minor differences in the molecular properties of proteins and fat. The limited amount of β-Lg and κ-Casein(CN) are involved in heat denaturation via formation of disulfide bridges in cow milk; their absence in camel milk result in different responses for heat treatment at different scale. Furthermore, differences between camel milk proteins compared to other milk resulted poor coagulation and reduce stability during processing of dairy products such as yogurt and cheese. The effect of different thermal processing methods on camel milk were discussed; however, high pressure processing (HPP) study on processing effect on camel milk is an area of research for more confirmation in-depth study. The industrial processing methods were found to effect important camel milk properties, nutritional values, and health properties compared to other animals including limiting bioactive proteins such as immunoglobulin, lactoferrin, lysozyme, and vitamins. This effect depends on the type of heat treatment applied.

Potential Anti-Diabetic Effect of Camel Milk

Based on empirical observations regarding the low prevalence of diabetes mellitus in population drinking regularly camel milk, camel scientists have investigated and assessed the effect of regular camel milk consumption on glycaemic status of diabetic patients and animal models. All the experiments' results concluded to the reduction of blood glucose and glycosylated haemoglobin. The hypothesis of high quantity of natural insulin in camel milk was proposed, but the quantities reported in the literature could not explain by itself the beneficial effect of camel milk consumption. It is stated that the lack of coagulum formation of camel milk the stomach was supposed to act as an effective vehicle (under internal nanoparticles) to take the milk insulin unchanged throughout the digestive tract and absorbed in the intestine. Other proteins in higher concentrations in camel milk than in other milk could interact with insulin receptor and contribute by their antioxidant and inti-inflammatory effect to regeneration of beta-cells in pancreas.

Health-Improving and Disease-Preventing Potential of Camel Milk Against Chronic Diseases and Autism

Camel milk has been used as part of the human diet since ancient times. This chapter tries to elaborate the different aspects of nutraceutical functional properties of camel milk, focusing on the nutritional composition, presence of bioactive zoochemicals and peptides, antioxidant nutrients (vitamin C), and health rendering properties of this unique milk. Recent research has identified camel milk as a prophylactic and therapeutic functional food due to its noticeable content of essential macronutrients, namely bioactive functional proteins and peptides, along with its considerable content of essential micronutrients. Indeed, the presence of this unique mixture has shown to be promising contributors to the management and prevention of chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, liver and kidney, metabolic syndrome, inflammatory bowel diseases in adults, and autism. In vivo, in vitro, and epidemiological and experimental studies were reviewed, and molecular mechanisms were highlighted for better understanding of the health-promoting, disease-preventing potential of camel milk.

Camel Colostrum Composition, Nutritional Value, and Nutraceuticals

Colostrum is an important source of nutrients and immune factors for the newborn. The nutrient profile and immunological composition of colostrum vary from species to species. The composition and characteristics of the colostrum of human, cows, and goats have been the subject of several studies. The study of the characteristics of camel colostrum is more recent. In this chapter, the current understanding of the composition of camel colostrum (i.e., carbohydrates, proteins, oligosaccharides, fats, vitamins, and minerals) is reviewed. A complete comparison with other animal colostrum in whole composition and nutritional value of camel colostrum will be investigated in the current chapter. Consequently, the aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the vast research, underlining the significance of camel colostrum in feeding of human beings and to predict the potential possible role of camel colostrum that can play in the functional products market in the future.