Dynamic in vitro gastric digestion behaviour of camel milk

This study investigated the dynamic in vitro gastric digestion behaviour of camel milk. Coagulum that was retainable in the stomach was not formed during the digestion of camel milk, whereas bovine milk reconstituted to the same protein concentration (2.9%, w/w) underwent pronounced gastric coagulation into structured clots. During early digestion, the camel milk formed small particles, resulting from its weak coagulation, that were preferentially emptied from the stomach. These particles became more compact and spherical in the first hour of digestion and then gradually decreased in size. Protein analysis indicated that the main camel milk proteins were digested in the order aS1-casein > b-casein > a-lact-albumin, which may have been modulated by the decreasing pH during the dynamic gastric digestion. This unique coagulation behaviour of camel milk resulted in its rapid gastric digestion and emptying, which may have nutritional implications.(c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

This study investigated the digestion behavior of camel milk in the stomach. Unlike bovine milk, camel milk did not form coagulum during digestion and instead formed small particles that were preferentially emptied from the stomach. The protein analysis revealed that the main proteins in camel milk were digested in a specific order, which may be influenced by the decreasing pH during digestion. The unique coagulation behavior of camel milk resulted in its rapid digestion and emptying, which may have nutritional implications.