Impact of ultrasonication and thermal pre-treatments on the quality, proteolysis, and bioactive properties of camel milk cheese

This research examines how different pre-treatment strategies, specifically thermal processing and ultrasonication, affect the physicochemical characteristics, proteolytic activity, and biofunctional properties of soft camel milk cheese. The camel milk was subjected to two conventional heat treatments: Low-Temperature Long-Time (LTLT) pasteurization at 63°C for 30 minutes and High-Temperature Short-Time (HTST) pasteurization at 72°C for 15 seconds. In addition, two ultrasound-based treatments were applied: 20 J/g (US-1) and 40 J/g (US-2), each for 30 minutes. The lower energy input (US-1) facilitated moderate structural changes, while the higher intensity (US-2) promoted more extensive cavitation, leading to deeper protein disruption and enhanced release of intracellular compounds. Cheese samples were stored at 4°C for seven days before analysis. The findings revealed that both types of pre-treatments significantly influenced cheese yield, proteolysis, and bioactive potential (p < 0.05). Notably, cheese derived from the US-2 treated milk exhibited the highest yield (13.3 ± 0.5%), markedly outperforming the HTST treatment (7.2 ± 0.3%). Ultrasonication also led to substantial improvements in enzyme inhibitory activity. The US-2 samples achieved α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition rates of 27.3 ± 1.5% and 36.8 ± 2.0%, respectively, considerably higher than the 16.2 ± 0.8% and 20.5 ± 1.1% observed in LTLT-treated cheese. These results underscore the effectiveness of ultrasonication as a promising pre-processing technique to enhance the nutritional quality and functional value of camel milk cheese. • Thermal treatment led to reduced cheese yields compared to ultrasound processing." • Thermal treatments exhibited diminished antioxidant activity relative to ultrasound-treated samples." • ultrasonicated camel milk cheese exhibited enhanced enzyme inhibition. • Sonication enhanced the antioxidant activity of camel milk cheese. • Cavitation disrupts milk proteins, enhancing cheese yield and bioactivity.