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In Book 28 of his natural history, Pliny calls donkey milk "the most effective" milk and lists around a dozen uses that were attributed to it at the time—recounting the opinions of others.
Historical account: The information provided here reflects the state of knowledge of its time. It is not scientifically proven, is not a recommendation, and cannot be applied today. Donkey milk is a food, not a medicine.
The source in brief
- Author: Pliny the Elder (Gaius Plinius Secundus)
- Work: Naturalis historia
- Passage: Book 28, §§ 123–130 (milk section) and § 158; other individual passages including §§ 196, 204, 211
- Time and place: around 77 AD · Roman Empire
- Type of source: Ancient natural history
The original wording
dulcissimum ab hominis camelinum, efficacissimum ex asinis.
After human milk, camel milk is the sweetest, and donkey milk the most effective.
Latin, NH 28,123
sunt inter exempla qui asininum bibendo liberati sint podagra chiragraque.
Among the examples cited are people who are said to have been freed from foot and hand gout by drinking donkey milk.
Latin, NH 28,125
German translation: own, free translation by the DON DONKEY'S editorial team.
Background
Books 28 to 32 of the "Naturalis historia" deal with medicines derived from humans and animals. In them, Pliny compiles what Greek and Roman physicians, folk medicine, and also magic practitioners ("magicians") had reported. He himself was not a physician and did not verify the information.
In the critical apparatus, the publisher Karl Mayhoff (Teubner, Leipzig 1906) refers to parallel information by Dioscorides, Celsus, and others in many passages about milk. Pliny therefore drew from the same medical literature that other ancient specialist authors also used.
What the source reports
In the continuous milk section (§§ 123–130), Pliny classifies the types of milk: human milk nourishes the most, camel milk is the sweetest after it, but donkey milk is considered the most effective. He then lists uses that were attributed to donkey milk: there are examples of people who were freed from gout by donkey milk (§ 125); it is given as an antidote after swallowing gypsum, white lead, sulfur, or mercury, as well as for a hard body during fever and as a gargle for a sore throat (§ 128).
In § 158, he repeats its use as an antidote for certain plant and animal substances and announces that he will mention many more uses. Indeed, donkey milk appears in the further course of Book 28 in around a dozen places, for example for stomach complaints (§ 196), shortness of breath (§ 197), diarrhea (§ 204), and the urge to defecate (§ 211).
Pliny also mentions limitations: At the end of the milk section (§ 130), he lists conditions in which milk was generally considered unsuitable, including headaches, liver and milk ailments, as well as fever—except when used for purging.
Numbers and facts
- §§ 123–130 – continuous milk section in Book 28
- ≈ 12 – individual passages on donkey milk in Book 28
- 4 – substances swallowed against which donkey milk was given according to § 128
- 2 – forms of gout in § 125 (podagra, chiragra)
- 1906 – publication year of Mayhoff's text edition
Critical assessment
- Collection, not verification: Pliny compiles opinions and individual cases ("sunt inter exempla"). His information shows what reputation donkey milk had in Roman medicine, but they are not verified observations.
- Heterogeneous origin: In the same book, medical advice stands alongside magical practices. Individual pieces of information therefore cannot easily be read as the medical consensus of the time.
- Not applicable today: The disease terms of the time do not correspond to today's diagnoses. None of the mentioned uses is scientifically proven today; the passages must not be understood as a recommendation.
- Value for medical history: Precisely the abundance of passages makes the book an important testimony: donkey milk was considered a special milk in antiquity and was clearly distinguished from cow, goat, or sheep milk.
Our assessment
Pliny is a detailed ancient source on donkey milk in medicine. We present his list as a testimony to ancient ideas and emphasize: Today, none of these uses is proven.
Original quotes, all facts, and the complete assessment: Pliny: Donkey milk in ancient medicine. Further sources and studies in the Research Archive.
Proof: Latin text Book 28, §§ 123–130, Mayhoff edition (Perseus); Latin text Book 28, § 158, Mayhoff edition (Perseus); English translation Bostock/Riley 1855, Book 28, Ch. 33 (Perseus) · Summarized by the DON DONKEY'S editorial team, as of November 2026.
End of source summary. The source does not refer to DON DONKEY'S® or our products. Our donkey milk is a food.
