Goat milk is nutritionally comparable to cow's milk although it is deficient in folic acid and vitamins B₆ and B₁₂. However, it does contain good quantities of calcium, vitamin B₃ (niacin), vitamin B₂ (riboflavin), vitamin B₁ (thiamin), vitamin A, protein, pantothenic acid, phosphorus and potassium.

In 1968, enzymes were reported in goat's milk:

• ribonucleases that catalyse the hydrolysis of RNA (ribonucleic acid),
• lipases responsible for the breakdown of fats
• lysozyme, an antimicrobial

Recent studies have confirmed the positive effect of goat's milk on the metabolism of the gut microbiota, increasing its antioxidant capacity (1).

Safety

At the end of the 19th century, the invention of pasteurisation made it possible to consume milk with a higher margin of safety in terms of reducing milk-borne infections. Currently, the danger posed by Brucella melitensis a Gram-negative coccobacillus from goats, which, like Brucella abortus a Gram-negative coccobacillus from cows, could carry infections such as brucellosis, has been circumvented with the 60-day rule established by the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration). In fact, cheese makers since 1950 must use pasteurised milk or raw milk cheese ripened at a temperature of 1.5°C (35°F) for at least 60 days.

Milk is considered a potential dietary source of oestrogen whose increased metabolite levels are associated with cancers of the reproductive system (2).

The most relevant studies on this ingredient have been selected with a summary of their contents:

Goat milk studies

References_____________________________________________________________________

(1) Freire FC, Adorno MAT, Sakamoto IK, Antoniassi R, Chaves ACSD, Dos Santos KMO, Sivieri K. Impact of multi-functional fermented goat milk beverage on gut microbiota in a dynamic colon model. Food Res Int. 2017 Sep;99(Pt 1):315-327. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2017.05.028. 

(2) Farlow DW, Xu X, Veenstra TD. Quantitative measurement of endogenous estrogen metabolites, risk-factors for development of breast cancer, in commercial milk products by LC-MS/MS. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2009 May 1;877(13):1327-34. doi: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2009.01.032.