**4. Health beneficial properties of camel milk**

Camel milk is not only valued for its physicochemical composition, but traditionally, camel milk and its fermented products have also been consumed for many years due to consumer's recognition of its important health-promoting properties. Camel milk has been known for its ability to promote bone formation in infants, and its curative properties against many internal diseases [22]. Nowadays, these medicinal virtues have been scientifically supported, in particular, the association of camel milk with a decreased prevalence of diabetes type I and II by reducing the demand for insulin in patients and improving residual β-cell function in the pancreas, due to its immunomodulatory influence [23]. This hypoglycemic potential is either due to the presence of insulin-like small molecules that are easily absorbed into circulation compared to insulin from other sources or to the existence of insulin in camel milk in indigestible form, i.e., encapsulated in nanoparticles (lipid vesicles) [24]. In addition to its anti-diabetic properties, camel milk and its derived products have a therapeutic role in gastrointestinal ulcers, liver disorders, diarrhea causing viruses, and tuberculosis [25]. Moreover, this milk has received great attention for its ability to cure several diseases including jaundice, lung- and spleenrelated illnesses, asthma, anemia, autism, edema, milk allergies, and dermatological autoimmune diseases [15, 16, 26, 27]. Additionally, camel milk is considered a good source of many antimicrobial substances and bioactive compounds, such as, lactoferrins and immunoglobulins, in addition to a greater quantity of lysozyme [28]. The level of lysosomal enzyme (N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase) that provides antimicrobial activity is high in camel milk as compared to other ruminants. This may confer a strong innate immunity providing higher natural resistance toward infections [29]. As camel milk is a highly nutritious medium supporting the growth of various bacterial species, in particular, lactic acid bacteria, it is considered to be


*Composition and Properties of Camel Milk DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.82592* 

### **Table 1.**

*Published studies on isolation of bacteriocin-producing lactic acid bacteria from camel milk and its by-products.* 

a potential source of probiotics and novel bioactive compounds. The few published studies on camel milk have shown that this milk is considered a niche of lactic acid bacteria producing antimicrobial peptides (bacteriocins) (**Table 1**).
