Effects of Geographic Region on the Composition of Bactrian Camel Milk in Mongolia
Jing He,
Yuchen Xiao,
Khongorzul Orgoldol,
Liang Ming,
Li Yi,
Rimutu Ji
Affiliations
Jing He
Key Laboratory of Dairy Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, College of Food Science and Engineering, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China
Yuchen Xiao
Key Laboratory of Dairy Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, College of Food Science and Engineering, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China
Khongorzul Orgoldol
Key Laboratory of Dairy Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, College of Food Science and Engineering, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China
Liang Ming
Key Laboratory of Dairy Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, College of Food Science and Engineering, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China
Li Yi
Key Laboratory of Dairy Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, College of Food Science and Engineering, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China
Rimutu Ji
Key Laboratory of Dairy Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, College of Food Science and Engineering, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China
Camel milk is considered as an essential source of nutrition for desert people. However, few studies have investigated how geography affects Bactrian camel milk in Mongolia. In this study, we evaluated the differences in gross composition, fatty acid composition, and amino acid composition among Bactrian camel milk samples collected from 102 Bactrian camels in five different Mongolian regions. The proportion of long-chain fatty acids, out of total fatty acids, was high in all samples of Bactrian camel milk. The primary fatty acids detected in the samples were palmitic acid (23.99−30.72%), oleic acid (17.21−24.24%), and stearic acid (11.13−16.49%), while the dominant amino acids were leucine, lysine, valine, and aspartic acid. Cysteine was the least common amino acid detected in the Bactrian camel milk samples. Considerable differences in the fatty acid and amino acid compositions were observed among Bactrian camel milk from different regions of Mongolia. The findings suggest that geography strongly affects the composition of camel milk.