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Research on donkey milk · Study 15
Donkey milk proteins in preterm infant nutrition
In a small sub-analysis of the FortiLat study in 2020, Cresi et al. evaluated how often reflux was measured in preterm infants – depending on whether their mother's milk was fortified with a fortifier based on donkey milk or on cow's milk.
What it's about
A fortifier for breast milk
Very small preterm infants need more protein and energy than breast milk alone provides. In hospitals, breast milk is therefore enriched with a fortifier – an additive that is usually based on cow's milk.
In the Italian FortiLat study, a fortifier based on donkey milk components was developed. The work presented here is a small additional analysis: it looks only at infants with reflux symptoms and measures how often reflux actually occurred.
The study comes from the neonatology department of the Sant’Anna Hospital of the University of Turin.
What exactly was tested?
Briefly explained
The terms used in this study
An additive used to enrich breast milk for preterm infants with protein, energy and minerals.
Stomach contents flow back into the oesophagus. This is common in preterm infants.
A thin probe counts every reflux event over many hours and measures how acidic it is.
Ultrasound was used to measure how quickly the stomach empties by half after a feed.
In the FortiLat study, preterm infants were randomly assigned to one of the two fortifiers.
Only infants with reflux symptoms were eligible for this analysis.
Reflux by impedance pH monitoring, plus breathing, heartbeat and gastric emptying.
The measured values of both groups were compared statistically.
Interactive · How large is the study?
From 156 infants to 10
Each dot represents one infant. Switch through the stages and see how small the evaluated group is in the end – this is crucial for interpreting the results.
Illustration of the reported participant numbers. The arrangement of the dots is schematic.
Key findings
What the researchers measured
Reflux events per hour
Median per group, measured by impedance pH monitoring.
Gastric emptying
Half-emptying time, measured by ultrasound.
Arithmetically, the medians correspond to around 58 % fewer reflux events in the donkey milk group. This is a comparison of two group values with five infants each – not a reliable estimate of how much an individual infant would benefit. Breathing and heartbeat were also monitored; the work does not show a robust effect on them.
Critical assessment
An interesting signal – nothing more
What the study shows
What it does not show
Research question for DON DONKEY’S®
What role can donkey milk proteins play in specialty nutrition?
The study shows that components of donkey milk are also being investigated in clinical nutrition research. For us, this is above all a question of raw material quality: how precisely can the composition of our milk be described and standardised?
Original publication
Effects on Gastroesophageal Reflux of Donkey Milk-Derived Human Milk Fortifier Versus Standard Fortifier in Preterm Newborns: Additional Data from the FortiLat Study
Cresi F., Maggiora E., Pirra A., Tonetto P., Rubino C., Cavallarin L., Giribaldi M., Moro G. E., Peila C., Coscia A.
Nutrients · 2020 · 12(7):2142
Neonatology, Sant’Anna Hospital / University of Turin
DOI: 10.3390/nu12072142
Full text: PMC7400944 · PubMed: PMID 32708446
The publication describes a small clinical sub-analysis with a specialty product for preterm infants. It does not allow any general statement about the treatment of reflux 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