Abstract: This article summarizes the nutritional value of camel milk, demonstrates its characteristics in comparison to other milks, analyzes the biological basis for the medicinal potential of camel milk with regard to the nutritional basis including the medicinal properties of special proteins present in camel milk and the biological basis for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunoregulatory, and gut microcology regulatory effects, and summarizes the recent progress in understanding the effects and mechanisms of action of camel milk in preventing and alleviating a variety of diseases encompassing diabetes, kidney damage, liver damage, cancer, autism and hypertension. Finally, this review concludes with a brief overview of the application of camel milk derivatives in the development of functional foods. We expect that this article will provide a reference for a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the potential of camel milk for medical application and for the development of functional foods based on camel milk.

Key words: camel milk; lactoferrin; whey protein; antioxidant; anti-inflammatory; immunomodulatory; diabetes; hypertension