Fatty acid and cholesterol composition of camel's (Camelus bactrianus, Camelus dromedarius and hybrids) milk in Kazakhstan

The fatty acid composition and cholesterol content of 22 camel's milk samples from different regions of Kazakhstan were determined, in different seasons and with different camel species (Bactrian, dromedary and hybrids). Camel milk fat differed from mammalian fats by its high content of the long-chain fatty acids C14:0, C16:0, C18:0 and C18:1. Great differences in fatty acid composition occurred between regions. Short-chain fatty acids (C8:0 and C10:0) were in higher proportion in spring and long-chain fatty acids (C17:0 and C17:1) in autumn. Dromedary milk had a higher proportion of C17:0iso and C18:1 than Bactrian milk. The ratio of unsaturated/saturated acid was more favorable in camel's milk compared with that of cows or other mammalians. All of these parameters gave a nutritional advantage to camel's milk, although it had a higher content of cholesterol (37.1 mg.100 g(-1)) than cow's milk. Multivariate analysis allowed the identification of four types of fatty acid profiles with a clear opposition between the samples rich in short-chain fatty acids and the samples rich in long-chain fatty acids. These results confirmed that environmental and farming conditions allowed modulation of the lipid composition of camel's milk.