Compared with cow’s milk, the milks of minor dairy animal species are know to be richer in nutrients and have a variety of bioactivities such as antibacterial, anticancer activity and antifatigue activity. However, consumers have little knowledge about the nutritional value of the milks of minor species and their production volume, market share and consumption are all low. Current studies regarding the milks of minor dairy species primarily concentrate on nutrient composition and single functional activities but often neglect the overall activity of all functional components. Systematic studies on the functional components, physiological effects and mechanisms of action of the milks of minor dairy species are lacking. In this paper, recent progress in studying the functional activities of donkey milk, buffalo milk, camel milk and goat milk is reviewed, and an outlook on future trends is given. This review hopes to provide a scientific basis for future research and development of high-quality, health dairy products from minor dairy species.

(1.College of Food Science and Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250353, China; 2.Shandong Panda Dairy Co. Ltd., Jinan 251400, China; 3.Qingdao Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Institute, Qingdao 266000, China)

Milk proteins are high-quality proteins, mainly consisting of whey proteins and caseins. In whey proteins, branched-chain amino acids are 2.7 times more abundant than aromatic amino acids. Antioxidant peptides can be produced in large quantity from the hydrolysis of caseins. The main milk proteins, with well-balanced amino acid composition, show great promise as a source of bioactive peptides. In this paper, we review the state of the art in the preparation of high F value oligopeptides and elucidate the feasibility of preparing high F value oligopeptides from milk proteins, in order to provide a theoretical basis for expand the source of high F value oligopeptides.

Enzymes are characterized by many advantages, including being needed only in micro-amounts, highly efficient, environmentally friendly and nontoxic, energy saving, highly specific, and able to react under mild conditions. Based on the reactions between enzymes and their specific substrates in milk, desirable results can be obtained safely and efficiently to improve the quality of dairy products. Thus, enzymes are widely used in dairy products. This article reviews the mechanisms of action of lactase, transglutaminase, rennet and lactoperoxidase and their applications in dairy processing and preservation, together with the application of enzyme-linked immunoassay to detect in the detection of dairy products. The aim of this review is to provide a theoretical basis for the application of enzymes in the processing, preservation and detection of dairy products.

Fermented milk was produced from fresh goat milk, blueberry juice and mulberries with added neotame and soybean oligosaccharides as sweeteners. The optimization of process parameters based on sensory evaluation, acidity and water-holding capacity was carried out using one-factor-at-a-time and orthogonal array design methods. The results showed that the optimal conditions were determined as follows: milk to blueberry juice ratio 7:3 (V/V), inoculum size 4 g/L, neotame to soybean oligosaccharide ratio 0.35:10, fermentation time 5 h, and one mulberry added to 100 mL of fermented milk. The yogurt produced under these conditions was light purple in appearance, having a uniform color embellished with purple mulberries, and it had good gelling properties and a good flavor with water holding capacity was 35%, acidity was 110 °T. Its sensory score was 95 points. The yogurt was found to contain 7.744 mg/L anthocyanidins by an ultraviolet spectrophotometric method, suggesting it to be a novel healthy goat milk product. The yogurt was determined to have potent antioxidant activity in comparison with the positive control ascorbic acid.

Ewe milk is rich in nutrients such as vitamins and protein, which is easy to be digested and absorbed by the human but simultaneously is very conducive to the growth of microorganisms. How to use safe, convenient and low-cost preservation methods to promote the development of ewe milk industry is a realistic problem that must be solved. In this paper, the structure, composition, antibacterial mechanism, thermodynamic characteristics, stability, and other characteristics of lactoperoxidase are discussed in details, and its application in milk preservation and detection and its influence on fermented milk products and cheese are reviewed. The purpose of this review is to provide insights into the development and application of lactoperoxidase in ewe milk industry.

A goat milk-based product with lactation-promoting effects and health benefits was formulated with goat milk, millet flour, gelatin, fig and medicinal plant extract. Optimization of the formulation was done using one-factor-at-a-time and orthogonal array design methods. The responses were sensory evaluation scores and hardness. The optimum formulation was found to consist of the addition of 31% millet flour, 1.01% gelatin, 13.17% fig, and 10% medicinal plant extract to fresh goat milk. The formulated product had a smooth surface, a delicate sweet flavor, a strong milk taste and an even color, and its sensory score and hardness were 96.30 and 366.53 g, respectively. The nutritional and health-promoting components of the raw materials were maximally retained in the product.

The formulation of donkey hide glue containing aqueous from edible flowers and skim goat milk was optimized using combination of one-factor-at-a-time method and response surface methodology with Box-Behnken design.The response variables were sensory evaluation scores and gel strength.The results showed that the optimum formulation was composed of 62.4％ skim goat milk,6.2％ donkey hide glue,aqueous flower extract 14.9％,and 0.075％ composite gelling agent.The resultant product showed a sensory score of 9.6 and a gel strength of 35.8 g.Physicochemical analysis indicated that the product contained ≥ 6.80 g of protein and ≤4.00 g of fat per 100 g of sample and thus could nourish blood and maintain beauty as a high-protein,low-fat product.

Lactase is widely used in the field of dairy processing, and has a very important value for research and application. This paper describes the characteristics and origin of lactase with emphasis on the recent progress in its application in the field of dairy processing. Some prospects for the future development of lactase are also discussed. We hope that this review can provide references for the researchers to immobilize lactase.

As an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of acyl groups, transglutaminase is widely used in the dairy industry. This paper briefly describes the source and catalytic mechanism of the enzyme, and further explains the mechanism of action of the enzyme on milk proteins, including casein, whey protein and milk protein products. Moreover, the application of the enzyme in the dairy industry is summarized in this paper.

In this study, the formulation of roughage-containing goat milk foam as a health product using goat milk and corn flour as main ingredients were optimized based on sensory evaluation and hardness using response surface analysis. The results showed that optimum combination of ingredients were determined as follows: ratio of corn flour to goat milk (m/V), 0.435:1; ratio of xylitol to sucrose (m/m), 0.712:1; and sucrose ester, β-cyclodextrin, citric acid and gelatin at concentration levels of 0.18%, 2.8%, 0.095 8% and 1.994%, respectively. The dairy product had a smooth appearance, evenly distributed color and refreshing taste with moderate sourness, integrating the unique aromas of goat milk and corn. Its sensory score was up to 95.48 and its hardness was 371.95 g, suitable for the vast majority of consumers. Moreover, the product showed maximum retention of the nutrients and health-protecting ingredients.

Milk protein is an important source of functional components in milk. Ewe milk, an emerging alternative to human breast milk, has become an important source of protein. Ewe milk has attracted growing interest from researchers. The protein quality and stability of ewe milk are a direct determinant of its nutritional quality. Therefore, this paper summarizes milk proteome and the techniques used to investigate milk proteome as well as the effect of ewe milk proteome and stability on the quality of milk proteins in order to provide a guideline to further ascertain the biological activity of unknown proteins in ewe milk and reveal milk proteome variation and its influence on the thermal stability of milk. Prospects for future research on ewe milk and ewe milk based products are also discussed.

In this study, the formulation of a fruit-vegetable edible paper using goat milk, carrot and hawthorn as main ingredients was optimized using one-factor-at-a-time method and response surface analysis. The effects of hawthorn added in different forms on the texture of goat milk-based edible paper were compared by texture profile analysis using a texture analyzer combined with particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. The sensory quality of goat milk-based edible paper was improved by adding hawthorn juice compared with hawthorn mash. The optimum formulation was composed of a 5:8:3 (V/m/V) mixture of goat milk, carrot and hawthorn added with 0.87% compound stabilizer, β-cyclodextrin, color fixative, white sugar and honey at concentration levels of 0.12%, 0.1%, 10% and 2.4% (m/m), respectively. The resulting product had a unique mixed flavor of goat milk and carrot, a mixed color of carrot and hawthorn and a paper-like appearance. It was tasty with a good balance between sour and sweet and its sensory score was 91.32, showing a relative error of approximately 1.68% compared to the model-predicted value.

With the rapid development of dairy industry in China, a growing deal of attention has been paid to the production of cheese. Chymosin plays an important role as a key enzyme in the process of cheese production, and it is an inevitable trend for chymosin to be the focus of future development in China. This paper briefly describes the types, structure, general characteristics and curding mechanism of chymosin and summarizes the different rennets used in cheese production. Future prospects of rennet are also discussed .