A novel way to improve quality of camel milk production using Moroccan Argane by-products

I Mercha^1,2, N Lakram², M R Kabbour², A Benali², A Douaik³, M Bouksaim², F Zkhiri¹ and E H El Maadoudi²

¹ Laboratory of Virology, Microbiology & Quality, Biotechnology / Eco-toxicology and Biodiversity University Hassan II, Faculty of Science and Techniques of Mohammedia, PB 146 Mohammedia 20650 Morocco.
ikram.mercha@gmail.com
² RU Animal Production and Forage, INRA, RCAR-Rabat, PB 6570, Institutes Rabat, 10101, Rabat, Morocco
³ RU Environment and Conservation of Natural Resources, INRA, RCAR-Rabat, PB 6570, Institutes Rabat, 10101, Rabat , Morocco

Abstract

The research was conducted to evaluate the effect on milk production of enriching the camel diet with press oil cake and pulp from the Argane tree. Several quality and quantity parameters of samples collected from two camel populations were analyzed. The treatments were a feed characterized by the byproduct from the Argane tree (AD), while the other represented a conventional feed (CD) with no Argane byproducts. Milk production increased 52.7% with AD compared to CD treatment. The AD treatment improved all the physicochemical parameters of the milk except salts and pH that showed major fluctuations during the lactation. It is concluded that under the present experimental conditions, the Argane byproducts could be a cost-effective supplement for camels in dry areas.

Keywords: oil press cake, physicochemical composition, pulp

Introduction

The world camel population is estimated at several million animals (Karray et al 2005). Camel milk production is estimated to be about 1500 liters per camel per year and is consumed essentially by the local population as raw or fermented milk (FAO 2003). The main difference between cow’s and camel’s milk lies in the physicochemical characteristics of the individual components (protein, lipids, ash), eg: five times more vitamin C is recorded in camel milk than in cow milk (Sawaya et al 1984).

Camel milk represents a food of high nutritional value for the rural population. It is an important element for the human organism due to its well-balanced composition (Alaoui Ismaili et al 2016a). Camel milk is popular for its traditional use as a treatment of various life style disorders. This can be attributed to some of its antimicrobial factors (Lactoferrin, lysozyme, Lactoperoxidase and Immunoglobulin) (Fguiri et al 2012). It is also reported that a regular consumption of camel milk helps preventing and controlling diabetes owing to the fact that insulin in camel milk is encapsulated in lipid vesicles, that facilitates absorption in the bloodstream, and crossing of digestive track walls (Wallace 2004). This makes camel milk a good option for diabetics, especially with the increasing prevalence of the Type 2 diabetes. According to the International Diabetes Mellitus Association, the number of people with diabetes will increase from 382 million in 2013,to 592 million in 2035 (Shahriari et al 2018).

Animal production in Morocco suffers from feed problems during the lean season due to the unavailability of traditional feed resources. Camel breeding remains one of the important agricultural activities of farmers in several regions in Morocco. It is considered as a significant sector for the national economy, especially in rural areas (Benkerroum et al 2003), where farming employs almost 74% of the active rural population; about one million farmers (FAO 2005).

In view of the unbalanced nutritional conditions, the unavailability of conventional protein resources, and the high cost and inadequate hygienic quality of camel dairy products, the development of alternative feed resources is a priority (Mouhaddach et al 2016).

In this context, the national institute of agricultural research in Rabat (INRA) developed a diet formula based on press oil cake and pulp from the tree Argania spinosa (Photo 1). This tree represents a strategic resource, with 830 000 ha of plantations, producing a high protein byproduct characterized by a competitive price compared to conventional feeds (Mouhaddach et al 2016).

The present research was focused on determining the effect of a diet based on Argane by-products on the physicochemical composition and the yield of raw camel milk produced in Ounagua-Essaouira region in comparison with test samples from regions with no presence of Argane plantations.

Photo 1. Argania spinosa tree

Materials and methods

Animals, diet and study area

The study was conducted at an experimental station in the rural region of Ounagha (located 20 km from Essaouira, in the Marrakech-Safi region). The experiment involved two groups of thirteen camels with an average age of 10 to 12 years at the 3rd and 4th month of lactation considered as a camels’ lactation peak. The comparison (Table 1) was the Argane diet (AD) based on the byproducts of Argane (Photo 2). while the second one followed a feeding system based on the control diet (CD). All camels received 10 kg of prepared diets twice a day. The Argane press oil cake and pulp were collected from Argane oil cooperatives from the same region using traditional extraction methods.

Photo 2. Byproducts of Argania spinosa: A : Press oil cake , B:Pulp

The feeds were ground and stored in airtight plastic containers for analysis. Dry matter (DM), ash, ether extract (EE), crude fiber (CF), and crude protein (CP) were determined according to the Association of Official Analytical Chemists methods (AOAC 2011). All measurements were done in triplicate (Tables 1 and 2).

Milk production and milk samples

Milking was twice daily, morning and evening, following the traditional practice of camel farmers. The calves sucked their dams before milking, to stimulate milk letdown, and again after hand milking to extract the residual milk from the udder. The two daily quantities of milk were combined to give the total daily milk production. At 2-week intervals, samples were taken representative of the combined daily production, placed in pre-sterilized glass bottles then kept under cold conditions and transported the same day to the food technology laboratory at INRA Rabat.

Physicochemical analysis

The pH of the milk samples was determined electrometrically with a pH-meter (Micro pH 2002, Crison, Barcelona, Spain). The physicochemical parameters (fat, solids-non-fat, density, protein, lactose, salts and freezing point were measured using a Lactoscan Milk Analyzer calibrated for camel milk.

Statistical Analysis

Data were statistically treated using variance analysis (ANOVA) (repeated measures procedure). Differences among means were ranked using Duncan’s New Multiple Range Test.

Results and discussion

Feed composition

The Argane diet (AD) contained more protein than the control diet (CD), more crude fiber and more ether-extract (Table 1), reflecting the replacement of the commercial feed in the control diet by the byproducts from the Argane fruit processing.

Milk production

The inclusion of the Argane byproducts to the diet improved milk production by 52.7% (Table 3). This is in accordance with previous results for feeds containing byproducts cited by Bekele et al (2011). These results also agree with those obtained by Faye et al (2013) that camel milk production on a diet enriched with olive cake was 7.5± 1.8 liters/day compared with 4.9±1.9 liters/day for the control diet. In the absence of data on the ingredients contained in the commercial feed it is difficult to explain the superiority of the Argane feed. However, it may well be the result of a higher level of bypass protein from the Argane pressed cake. The heat generated by the artisan method of oil extraction of the Argane fruits would have reduced the solubility of the protein in the residual cake and hence enhanced its rumen bypass characteristics as described by Whitelaw and Preston (1963) and Preston and Leng (1987).

Camel milk composition

For all criteria except salts the composition of milk from camels fed by the Argane diet exceeded those from the control animals (Table 4). There is no obvious explanation for the higher levels of most constituents of the milk from camels fed the diet containing the Argane byproducts. Higher oil levels on the Argane diet could transmit through to the milk and it is to be expected that the better nutritional status of the Argane diet, due to the content of oil and bypass protein would convey benefits on milk quality from camels fed the Argane diet.

Conclusion

• The use of Argane press oil cake and pulp in replacement of commercial feed in diets for camels improved the milk yield by 57% and enriched the physicochemical content.

Acknowledgment

The authors thank the staff of the Research Unit of Animal Production and Forage at the National Institute of Agronomic Research, RCAR-Rabat-Morocco, for carrying out this work. Outman Bouhlal and Aissam el Aliani are also thanked for their help and assistance in the statistical study,

Funding sources

This work was carried out with the support of the National Center for Scientific and Technical Research as part of the Research Excellence Fellowship Program.

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Received 4 April 2019; Accepted 20 April 2019; Published 1 May 2019

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