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Research on donkey milk · Study 14
Preterm infants, 18 months later
In 2020, Peila et al. examined the development of children from the FortiLat study at a corrected age of 18 months. In hospital, their mother's milk had been fortified with a fortifier based on donkey milk or on cow's milk.
What it's about
The question of what comes after
In hospital, preterm infants receive breast milk enriched with a fortifier – an additive with protein, energy and minerals. In the FortiLat study, a fortifier based on donkey milk components was compared with a standard cow's-milk-based fortifier.
When early nutrition changes, an important question arises: do the children later develop comparably? This follow-up looked at exactly that at 18 months.
The work comes from the neonatology department of the University of Turin.
What exactly was studied?
Briefly explained
The terms used in this study
An additive used to enrich breast milk for preterm infants with protein, energy and minerals.
Age counted from the calculated due date. This allows preterm infants to be compared fairly with children of the same age.
A standardised developmental test that assesses areas such as movement, language and hand–eye coordination.
GQ for short. An overall score from the Griffiths test. The average for children of the same age is around 100.
156 preterm infants were randomly assigned to one of the two fortifiers.
In hospital they received breast milk with the respective fortifier.
At a corrected age of 18 months, a developmental test and neurological examination followed.
103 children could be evaluated and compared between the groups.
Interactive · The data at a glance
Three views of 103 children
Who was followed up, what were the developmental scores – and how many children were below the threshold used in the analysis? Switch between the three views.
Donkey milk fortifier16 of 49 · 32.7 %
Cow's milk fortifier13 of 54 · 24.1 %
Illustration of the figures reported in the original publication. The arrangement of the dots is schematic.
Key findings
What the researchers report
No significant difference
Both groups had a median close to the average value of 100.
No significant difference
The threshold comes from the analysis itself and is not a clinical cut-off for a developmental disorder.
One severe finding reported
No causal link with the fortifier can be derived from this – nor can rare risks be ruled out with this group size.
Of the original 156 children, 53 were not included in this analysis. The absence of a significant difference is not proof of equivalence or long-term safety.
Critical assessment
No difference measured – but no proof
What the study shows
What it does not show
Research question for DON DONKEY’S®
What requirements does specialty nutrition place on a raw material?
Follow-up studies like this show how high the standards are in clinical nutrition. For us, this is a reason to document the composition and quality of our milk as precisely as possible.
Original publication
Neurodevelopmental Outcome at 18 Months of Age of Preterm Infants Fed with a Donkey Milk-Derived Human Milk Fortifier (FortiLat Study)
Peila C., Spada E., Deantoni S., Iuliano E., Moro G. E., Giribaldi M., Cavallarin L., Cresi F., Coscia A.
Nutrients · 2020 · 12(12):3807
Neonatology, University of Turin, Italian Association of Human Milk Banks, CNR-ISPA, CREA
DOI: 10.3390/nu12123807
Full text: PMC7764145
The publication describes a follow-up of the FortiLat study with a specialty product for preterm infants. It does not allow any statement about donkey milk as a food or any product-related statement for DON DONKEY’S®.
From our shop
DON DONKEY’S® donkey milk
100 % donkey milk · raw milk, frozen
On this page we report the findings of a published study. Independently of that, you will find our donkey milk here: 100 % donkey milk, frozen as raw milk.
100 ml bottle / 100ml · Unit price: €249,00 / 1 l · incl. VAT, plus shipping