Influence of Wet and Dry Season on Milk Composition of Dromedary Camels (Camelus dromedarius) from Tunisia

This study investigated the effect of season (wet and dry) on milk composition of the dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius). Milk samples representing the wet and dry seasons were analyzed for total solids (TS), fat (F), solids-non-fat (SNF), ash, crude protein (CP), nitrogen soluble at pH 4.6 (SN), mineral content (MC) and casein fraction (CnF). Camel milk had higher (P<0.05) fat content in the wet season. Crude pro-tein, TS, SNF and SN contents (%) were also higher (P<0.01) during the wet season. Ash content was simi-lar (P>0.05) in the two seasons. The concentrations of Mg, Na and K were affected by season while the concentrations of Ca and Cl were not. The results from the present study indicate that the increase of milk CnF observed in the wet season was not due to the increase in β-casein and α1-casein contents. Among caseins, the κ-casein and α2-casein fractions did not differ between the two seasons. Conversely, milk from summer camels showed higher contents of αs1-casein and β-casein. It was concluded that the effects of season on the chemical composition of camel milk may impact the processing characteristics of camel milk.