Donkey milk knowledge archive · Historical source

Dioscorides, “De materia medica”: donkey milk in the chapter on milk

Around AD 60–70 Dioscorides compares the milk of different animals in his materia medica. He groups donkey milk with cow’s and mare’s milk as more laxative and recommends it as a mouth rinse for the gums and teeth.

Historical account: The information reproduced here reflects the knowledge of its time. It is not scientifically substantiated, is not a recommendation and cannot be applied to today. Donkey milk is a food, not a remedy.
c. AD 65Roman Empire (Asia Minor)Materia medica
Author
Pedanius Dioscorides of Anazarbus (1st century AD)
Work
Περὶ ὕλης ἰατρικῆς (De materia medica), critical edition by Max Wellmann, vol. I, Berlin 1907
Passage
Book II, ch. 70 (milk), §1 p. 143 and §5 p. 145 of Wellmann’s edition
Time & place
c. AD 60–70 · Roman Empire (Asia Minor)
Type of source
Materia medica

In the original words

What the original says

τὸ μέντοι ὄνειον καὶ βόειον καὶ ἵππειον εὐκοιλιώτερα καὶ ταρακτικὰ γίνεται.

The milk of the she-ass, the cow and the mare, however, is more laxative and upsets [the bowels].

Ancient GreekDioskurides, De materia medica II 70,1 (ed. Wellmann, Bd. I, 1907, S. 143)

ἰδίως δὲ τὸ ὄνειον διακλυζόμενον οὖλα καὶ ὀδόντας κρατύνει

Donkey milk in particular, used as a mouth rinse, strengthens the gums and teeth.

Ancient GreekDioskurides, De materia medica II 70,5 (ed. Wellmann, Bd. I, 1907, S. 145)

English rendering: our own translation by the DON DONKEY’S editorial team, following the sense of the text.

Background

Who, when, what kind of text

Dioscorides came from Anazarbus in Cilicia (today southern Turkey) and, by his own account, travelled widely, probably as a physician connected with the Roman army. His five books “On Medical Material” describe around a thousand plant, animal and mineral substances. The work remained the authoritative reference on drugs into the early modern period and was translated into Latin, Arabic and many vernaculars.

Dioscorides deals with milk in Book II, which is devoted to substances of animal origin. We quote the critical edition by the philologist Max Wellmann (Berlin 1907), which is still regarded as the standard text. Wellmann numbers the milk chapter II 70; older editions use different numbers, which matters when comparing quotations in secondary literature.

Content

What the source reports about donkey milk

The chapter opens with a general description: all milk is nourishing, softens the bowels and causes wind in the stomach and intestines. Spring milk is more watery than summer milk, and milk from fresh pasture more laxative. Goat’s milk acts less on the bowels because goats eat a lot of astringent foliage; sheep’s milk is thick, sweet and fatty.

Within this comparison comes the sentence on donkey milk: like cow’s and mare’s milk, it is more laxative and upsets the bowels. A few paragraphs later there is a separate statement: donkey milk “in particular”, used as a rinse, strengthens the gums and teeth.

Notable is the remark that milk varies with feed, season and time since birth. This observation that milk depends on feeding and stage of lactation recurs in later authors up to the 18th century.

At a glance

Figures & facts from the source

5books make up “De materia medica”
II 70milk chapter in Wellmann’s numbering
p. 143donkey milk in the comparison of animals (§1)
p. 145donkey milk as a mouth rinse (§5)
1907year of publication of Wellmann’s vol. I
4kinds of milk compared: goat, sheep, cow/mare, ass

Critical assessment

How reliable is this source?

Source value

Original Greek text in the authoritative critical edition, verifiable page by page as a digital copy. The text was transmitted in manuscripts for centuries; Wellmann’s apparatus records many variant readings, but the core statements on donkey milk are unambiguous.

Later influence

The statement on the mouth rinse reappears almost verbatim in Avicenna and in Conrad Gessner, who explicitly names Dioscorides as his source. Dioscorides is thus an early starting point of a long chain of copying.

Today’s assessment

The statements reflect the observation and doctrine of the 1st century. They do not substantiate any effect of donkey milk on teeth or digestion and cannot be applied to today; donkey milk is a food.

Our assessment

Dioscorides compares donkey milk soberly with other kinds of milk and pays attention to feed and season. We find it fascinating how long his wording on the mouth rinse survived: it can be traced via Avicenna to Gessner in 1551.

References

Sources to check

More sources and studies in the research archive. Summarised by the DON DONKEY’S editorial team, as of November 2026.