The nutritional therapeutic values and chemical properties of goat milk

Abstract

Goat is known as poor man’s animal. The fat globules are smaller in goat milk, which makes it easily digestible. Polyunsaturated fatty acids in goat milk fat, is mainly responsible for anticancerous behavior of goat milk. Although protein is somewhat low in goat milk than cow milk, the digestibility of goat milk protein is higher compared to cow milk protein. Taurine present in goat milk is reported to have inhibitory action on cardiovascular disease leads to synthesis of essential amino acids. Goat’s milk contains less lactose than cow’s milk, which is beneficial to lactose intolerance patients. Higher selenium concentration in goat milk, results in platelet regeneration when suffering from dengue fever. Bioactive peptides released during fermentation and invitro digestion are reported to produce antioxidant and antimicrobial peptides. Sialic acid present in caprine milk is also reported to help fast brain development. As compared to milk of other milch animals, goat’s milk has great potential to prevent various diseases. Beside nutritional properties, goat milk possesses potent nutraceutical and Therapeutic properties making it most suitable for infants, older and convalescent people. In this review, strong nutraceutical power of caprine milk is briefly explored.