Importance of Functional Ingredients in Yak Milk-Derived Food on Health of Tibetan Nomads Living Under High-Altitude Stress: A Review

• Published in: Critical reviews in food science and nutrition Vol. 54; no. 3; pp. 292 - 302
• Main Authors: Guo, Xusheng, Long, Ruijun, Kreuzer, Michael, Ding, Luming, Shang, Zhanhuan, Zhang, Ying, Yang, Yang, Cui, Guangxin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia, PA Taylor & Francis Group 01-01-2014; Taylor & Francis; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Altitude; amino acids; Amino Acids - analysis; Animals; antioxidants; Antioxidants - analysis; bacteria; bioactive components; bioactive properties; Biological and medical sciences; Cattle; cold; Dairy Products; Diet; enzymes; fatty acids; Fatty Acids - analysis; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; food science; fruits; functional foods; Functional foods & nutraceuticals; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Health Status; high altitude; Humans; hypoxia; Milk; Milk - chemistry; Milk - microbiology; Nomads; Nutrition research; nutrition science; nutritional adaption; Nutritional Requirements; oxidative stress; people; plateaus; Probiotics; Survival analysis; Tibet; Transients and Migrants; ultraviolet radiation; vegetables; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; vitamins; Vitamins - analysis; Yak milk; yaks; yogurt; China; Tibet; Tibetan Plateau; Qinghai China; High altitude; Oxidative stress; Oxygen; Nutrition; Environmental factor; Yak milk; Review; bioactive components; Health food; Ingredient; Hypoxia; Chemical composition; nutritional adaption; Milk
• ISSN: 1549-7852; 1040-8398; 1549-7852
• DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2011.584134

Tibetan nomads have lived since ancient times in the unique and harsh environment of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau with average altitudes over 4000 m. These people have been able to live and multiply healthily over numerous generations under the extreme stress of high-altitude environment, including cold, hypoxia, and strong ultraviolet radiation, and with a simple diet devoid of vegetables and fruits for most of the year. Their survival depends heavily on yak milk, and its products comprise the main portion of their daily diet. In this review, yak milk and its derived products are examined in detail and compared with milk from other ruminant species. Yak milk products seem to be particularly rich in functional and bioactive components, which may play a role in maintaining the health status of Tibetan nomads. This includes particular profiles of amino acids and fatty acids, and high levels of antioxidant vitamins, specific enzymes, and bacteria with probiotic activity (yoghurt is the main food). Based on that, it is proposed that the Tibetan nomads have developed a nutritional mechanism adapted to cope with the specific challenges posed by the environment of the world's highest plateau. Systematic studies are required to demonstrate this in a more mechanistic way.