Abstract
Oxidative stress can lead to chronic inflammation, nephrotoxicity, and renal damage. The consumption of plant-based dairy alternatives has increased rapidly worldwide due to their health effects. Bioactive components from natural sources, such as plants, are effective in protecting against oxidative stress. The present study evaluated the physicochemical and sensory properties of fermented camel milk made from camel milk mixed with pumpkin seed milk. Fermented camel milk consists of camel milk mixed with 25% and 50% pumpkin seed milk. This blend (fermented camel milk containing 50% pumpkin seed milk) was evaluated as an antioxidant agent in oxidative stress induced rats. A total of thirty-two male adult albino rats of Sprague Dawley® Rat strain weighing 150–180 g were randomly divided into four groups (n = 8). The first group was solely administered the standard diet and served as the negative control. The other rats (n = 24), received a basal diet, including being intraperitoneally injected with carbon tetrachloride, with a single dose at a rate of 2 mL/kg body weight) as a model for oxidative stress. The oxidative stress rats were divided into three groups; the first group did not receive any treatment and served as the positive control. The second and third groups were administered 10 g/day fermented camel milk and fermented camel milk containing 50% pumpkin seed milk. The results revealed that mixing the camel milk with pumpkin seed milk was more effective in increasing the total solids, protein, ash, fiber, acidity, viscosity, phenolic content, and antioxidant activity. These enhancements were proportional to the mixing ratio. Fermented camel milk containing 50% pumpkin seed milk exhibited the highest scores for sensory properties compared with the other fermented camel milk treatments. The group of rats with oxidative stress treated with fermented camel milk containing 50% pumpkin seed milk showed a significant decrease (p ≤ 0.05) in the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), cholesterol (CL), triglycerides (TGs), AST, ALT, creatinine, and urea, and increased (p ≤ 0.05) high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and total protein and albumin compared with rats with oxidative stress. Consumption of fermented camel milk containing 50% pumpkin seed milk by the oxidative stress rat groups caused significant improvement in all of these factors compared with the positive control group. This study revealed that the administration of fermented camel milk containing 50% pumpkin seed milk to rats with oxidative stress prevented disorders related to oxidative stress compared with the untreated oxidative stress group. Thus, incorporating fermented camel milk might play a beneficial role in patients with oxidative stress.