Improvement of the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of camel and bovine whey proteins by limited proteolysis.

The compositions and structures of bovine and camel milk proteins are different, which define their functional and biological properties. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of enzymatic hydrolysis of camel and bovine whey proteins (WPs) on their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. After enzymatic treatment, both the antioxidant and the antimicrobial activities of bovine and camel WPs were improved. The significantly higher antioxidant activity of camel WPs and their hydrolysates as compared with that of bovine WPs and their hydrolysates may result from the differences in amounts and/or in accessibilities of antioxidant amino acid residues present in their primary structures and from the prevalence of alpha-lactalbumin and beta-lactoglobulin as proteolytic substrates in camel and bovine whey, respectively. The results of this study reveal differences in antimicrobial and antioxidant activities between WP hydrolysates of bovine and camel milk and the effects of limited proteolysis on these activities.