Zhang, Lina, et al. “Characterization of endogenous peptides from Dromedary and Bactrian camel milk.” European Food Research and Technology 248.4 (2022): 1149-1160. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-021-03952-2

Abstract

Camel milk has both nutritional value and therapeutic effects due to its bioactive components, including proteins and peptides. This study characterize endogenous peptide and potential bioactivity in both Dromedary and Bactrian camel by peptidomics techniques. In total, 622 parent protein from 8393 peptides were identified from camel milk, of which 208 proteins from Dromedary and 464 proteins from Bactrian. After filtration, 4464 endogenous peptides were quantified with 459 peptides were common in two breeds. Finally, 170 peptides were significantly different between Dromedary and Bactrian camel milk, which derived from 27 proteins, including osteopontin, lactoperoxidase up-regulated in Dromedary camel milk and butyophilin subfamily member A1, perilicin, fatty acids synthase up-regulated in Bactrian camel milk. Peptide ranker showed that 14.6% and 15.7% quantified peptides from Dromedary and Bactrian has bioactivity, which were dominated by dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitor (39.93%), followed by ACE inhibitor (34.85%) and anti-oxidative activity (8.69%). In sum, although Dromedary and Bactrian camel milk had significantly differences in qualitative and quantitative level of endogenous peptides, they had similarity in bioactivity including anti-diabetic, anti-hypertensive, and anti-oxidative function. The result of this study suggest that endogenous peptides may also contribute to the therapeutic benefits of camel milk.