Abstract
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.
TopCancer
As part of the traditional medicine in the Middle East, CM has long been used in the prevention and treatment of numerous types of cancers (Korashy, Maayah, Abd-Allah, El-Kadi, & Alhaider, 2012), and people consume CM regularly as part of the common belief that it improves immunity against diseases and decreases the risk for cancer (Badawy, El-Magd, & Alsadrah, 2018). Some reports indicated that camel products, including both urine and milk, acquire anticancer effects (Al-Harbi et al., 1996; Al-Yousef et al., 2012; Mushref, 2006). This traditional application of CM could be found in ancient medicinal books that provide many quotes about the camel’s benefits and nutraceutical values. Avicenna (980-1037 AD), the father of early modern medicine, stated the therapeutic uses for CM in treating diseases of the liver, spleen, kidney, cancer, and childhood diseases (Ibn-e-Sina, 2005; Zibaee et al., 2015).