Goat milk as a natural source of bioactive compounds and strategies to enhance the amount of these beneficial components

Goat milk, in addition to its nutritional characteristics, has functional properties and health-promoting benefits due to its content of biologically active constituents, especially peptides derived from its proteins, oligosaccharides, short and medium chain fatty acids and phospholipids. Among the several beneficial effects to human health, these compounds stand out for their role in preventing chronic diseases, especially cardiovascular diseases, most of them due to their antioxidant capacity, and in maintaining gastrointestinal health. Together with these goat milk molecules, calcium, one of the most important cell signalling components, has also demonstrated potential to prevent obesity and its associated risk factors. Several strategies have been investigated to enhance the health benefits of goat milk, with particular focus on increasing the levels of its bioactive constituents and minerals, enhancing the functionality of goat dairy products. The main functional properties of goat milk and the main improvement strategies are discussed in this review.