Therapeutics Effects and Health Benefits of the Caucasus Koumiss: A Review
S. S. Kirdar *
Food Processing Department,Burdur Food Agriculture and Livestock Vocational School, Burdur Mehmet AkifErsoy University, Turkey.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Koumiss (koumyss, kumiss, kumys, kumyz, kimiz or coomy) has been popular in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and the Turkic, Mongolian, and Caucasian peoples of Russia: Altay, Bashkortostan, Buryatia, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, Kalmykia, Karachaevo-Cherkessia, Tatarstan, Tyva, Chuvashia, and Saha (Yakutia). Many countries in numerous Central Asian countries provide Koumiss therapeutic services, which are primarily provided by small and medium-sized accommodation firms that are particularly active in rural areas of those countries.
Koumiss is classified as a functional food due to its nutritional and medicinal properties. Many health benefits of koumiss include high probiotic content; antibacterial and antifungal characteristics; regulation of immunity; maintenance of a healthy gastric-intestinal system; regulation of cholesterol and sugar levels; regulation of blood pressure; and induction of some important vitamins. The objective of this review is to provide a comprehensive summary of the health benefits of koumiss.
Keywords: Mare milk, beneficial, health, koumiss