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For centuries, donkey milk has been valued for its unique composition. As far back as ancient Greece and Rome, donkey milk was considered a special natural product – for beauty care and as part of traditional dietary cultures. Modern research now describes the components that make up the composition of donkey milk.
Donkey Milk: A Natural Component of Traditional Diets
Donkey milk contains a range of nutrients and natural components. These include lysozyme, an enzyme that was described by Alexander Fleming in 1922 and is found in many biological fluids – including saliva, tears, and human milk. Scientific analyses measure a higher lysozyme content in donkey milk compared to cow milk. Lysozyme is mentioned here as an ingredient, not as an indication of an effect. You can read more about the individual components in our post on ingredients and nutritional values.
Why Donkey Milk Is a Special Natural Product
The composition of donkey milk differs from that of other types of milk. Every 100 ml contains approximately 1.5–1.9 g of protein, usually less than 1 g of fat, and about 6–7 g of lactose. Scientific studies on comparative milk analysis regularly describe the differences between the types of milk. Donkey milk is also compared with human milk; historically, it played a role in European infant nutrition (more on this below). However, donkey milk is not a substitute for breast milk or infant formula.
The Traditional Use of Donkey Milk
Donkey milk has a long tradition in European dietary and cultural history. In various cultures, it was used for centuries as part of traditional diets. Historical records from antiquity – from Hippocrates to Pliny the Elder and Roman authors – mention donkey milk in different contexts, according to tradition. In various European regions, its use was passed down through generations and was part of cultural dietary traditions. This historical use is a subject of cultural and dietary history research today.
A Natural Product with a Long History
The cultural significance of donkey milk is not just a chapter of the past – its composition is being re-examined in milk analysis today. In the 19th century, donkeys were kept on-site in several Paris hospitals. Their milk was used at the time for infants whose mothers could not breastfeed – at a time when there was no infant formula in the modern sense. This is a piece of medical history and not a recommendation for today: For children, during pregnancy and breastfeeding, please speak with your pediatrician or doctor beforehand. According to legend, the Egyptian queen Cleopatra bathed in donkey milk, and the Roman empress Poppaea Sabina reportedly had herds of donkeys kept for this purpose.
At DON DONKEY'S®, we market donkey milk as an unprocessed food product – a centuries-old European tradition that we combine with modern quality assurance. Our milk is hand-milked on European farms, laboratory-tested in Germany, and delivered frozen. We deliberately make no health-related claims – what we offer is a natural product with traceable origin and processing.
Discover the cultural and historical significance of donkey milk and its long European tradition. Learn more about the history of this special natural product.
This post provides information about the historical aspects and composition of donkey milk. Donkey milk is a food product and not a medicine. If you have health-related questions, please contact your doctor.
