Manal A AlGhsyar, Samir A Salem and Sahar H Ahmad
Increasing world population, increasing demand for and cost of protein-rich foods, and the continuing need to improve the nutritional and functional properties of protein ingredients have contributed to a greater research into blends or composites as food ingredients. Proteins co-precipitates have a range of biological, physical, chemical, functional, sensory and nutritional properties giving the potential application as product ingredients in the food industry, though relatively little published information is available on this subject. Camels serve as a major source of milk and meat in the Middle East, where there are great number of camels in Saudi Arabia, which is the second largest country in the production of camel milk after Somalia; Camel milk is considered a highly consumed food in the Arab Gulf states. Also, Proteins from Camels’ and Goats’ milks are characterized with different properties than cow proteins, and they are an important source for milk in the desert areas. The aim of this study was to obtain the co-precipitates proteins of camels’ and goats’ milk using different methods such as heat treatment with or without addition of calcium chloride (CaCl) or hydrochloric acid (HCl) as well as precipitation after the concentration of proteins by ultra-filtration and then study their physical and functional characteristics to recommend their use in the food industry.
