Variation of camel milk composition under heat treatment: changes in protein, vitamin, fatty acid and amino acid profiles

Abstract

The present research work was conducted to study the effects of heat treatments on the protein, vitamin, fatty acid and amino acid composition of camel milk. Camel milk samples were heated at 63 °C for 30 minutes (pasteurized) and at 100 °C for 3 minutes (boiled). β-Casein exhibited the most significant sensitivity to boiling temperature, decreasing from 14613 mgL−1 in raw milk to 2728 mgL−1 after boiling, and lactoferrin was entirely absent. Saturated fatty acids (SFA) did not show any significant variations under heat treatment, and the most sensitive unsaturated fatty acid (USFA) was oleic acid, with decreases of 6.16% and 16.33% after pasteurization and boiling, respectively. Pasteurized camel milk showed a reduction of 22.47%, 27.35%, and 99.1% in vitamins C, B3, and B2, respectively. After boiling, this loss of vitamins was more pronounced: 61.1%, 81.92%, and 99%. Raw camel milk samples were a rich source of EAAs. The amino acid most affected by boiling temperature was lys (56%), followed by leu (51.88%).