Research on donkey milk · Study 33

Donkey milk and weaning stress

In 2023, de Souza Farias et al. examined how piglets respond to weaning from the sow when they receive donkey milk in the days before and after – compared with cow's milk and with no supplement.

Important: Piglets were studied over six days. The results cannot be transferred to humans.

View data Study results

Publication

de Souza Farias et al.
2023 · Front. Immunol.

Study type

Feeding trial
with 48 piglets

Groups

Donkey milk · cow's milk
· no supplement (16 each)

Administration

300 ml per day from a bottle
3 days before + 3 days after weaning

What it's about

A stressful day in a piglet's life

In pig farming, piglets are separated from the sow after around four weeks. This weaning means a new environment, new feed and no more mother's milk – and is regarded as a considerable burden on the immune system and behaviour.

A research team from Brazil and Italy gave piglets donkey milk from a bottle in the three days before and after weaning. For comparison, other piglets received skimmed cow's milk or no supplement.

The stress hormone cortisol in saliva, inflammation and stress genes in blood cells, behaviour in three tests and weight were measured.

What exactly was studied?

Animals48 piglets from 4 litters, weaned at 28 days

GroupsDonkey milk, cow's milk, no supplement

Amount300 ml per day from a bottle

Duration6 days around weaning

ResultInflammation gene IL1B lower than with cow's milk

LimitationPiglets, small groups, short duration

Briefly explained

The terms used in this study

EventWeaning

The separation of the piglets from the sow. A well-known moment of stress in animal husbandry.

Stress hormoneCortisol

Released in larger amounts under stress. Measured here in saliva, in the morning and afternoon.

Inflammation geneIL1B

Blueprint for the messenger interleukin-1β, which triggers inflammatory reactions.

Stress geneNR3C1

Blueprint for the receptor through which cells respond to cortisol.

Step 01Allocating

48 piglets from four litters were divided evenly into three groups.

Step 02Feeding

For three days before and three days after weaning, there was milk from a bottle – 300 ml per day.

Step 03Observing

Before and after weaning, the piglets completed three behavioural tests.

Step 04Measure

Salivary cortisol, gene activity in blood cells and body weight were recorded.

Interactive · The data at a glance

Three groups, six days

How was the experiment run, how were the groups divided – and what was found for the inflammation gene, stress hormone and weight? Switch between the views.

1Day −3 to −16 × daily 50 ml milk from a bottle, still with the sow

2Day 28: weaningSeparation from the sow

3Day +1 to +33 × daily 100 ml milk from a bottle

4EvaluationCortisol, gene activity, behaviour, weight

Illustration of the mean values and findings reported in the original publication. The graphics are simplified; variation is not shown.

Key findings

What the researchers report

Immune system

IL1B lower than with cow's milk

8.11 vs. 15.55

In blood cells of the donkey milk group, the inflammation gene IL1B was only about half as active as in the cow's milk group. Compared with the piglets with no supplement, the difference was not significant.

Stress hormone

Less cortisol in the afternoon

saliva · after weaning

In the afternoon after weaning, the piglets given donkey milk had relatively less cortisol in their saliva than the piglets with no supplement. The stress gene NR3C1 was only increased with cow's milk.

Growth & behaviour

Hardly any differences

weight · three behavioural tests

Final weight did not differ. In the behavioural tests there were only individual differences – for example in jumping against the wall and in immobility in a maze test.

The authors see donkey milk as a possible approach to reducing the consequences of weaning stress and regard their work as a stimulus for further research, also with a view to humans. The results come from an animal experiment and cannot be transferred to humans.

Critical assessment

A first indication from the barn

What the study shows

✓

Piglets drank donkey milk voluntarily and almost completely.

✓

The inflammation gene IL1B was lower than with cow's milk.

✓

In the afternoon after weaning, relatively less cortisol was measurable than with no supplement.

✓

Weight and most behaviours remained unchanged.

What it does not show

No effect in humans and no statement on infant nutrition.

No long-term data – administration lasted only six days.

Only gene activity was measured, not the actual amount of messengers.

Small groups; some details in the text are not entirely consistent.

Research question for DON DONKEY’S®

How does our milk compare?

The study gives 2.94 % protein, 0.36 % fat and 4.41 % lactose for its donkey milk. For us, this is a prompt to document the composition of our milk over the year.

01 · ANALYSISHave protein, fat and lactose in our milk measured.

02 · COMPARISONCompare the values with the figures from the study.

03 · LITERATUREFollow further studies on donkey milk and stress.

04 · EXCHANGEGet in touch with the teams in São Paulo and Teramo.

Original publication

Asinine milk mitigates stress-mediated immune, cortisol and behavioral responses of piglets to weaning: A study to foster future interventions in humans

de Souza Farias S., Dierings A. C., Mufalo V. C., Sabei L., Parada Sarmiento M., da Silva A. N., Ferraz P. A., Pugliesi G., Ribeiro C. V. D. M., Oliveira C. A. A., Zanella A. J.
Frontiers in Immunology · 2023 · 14:1139249

DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1139249
Full text: PubMed Central

The publication describes a feeding trial with piglets. It does not allow 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.

Transparency: In the study, donkey milk was fed to piglets, not DON DONKEY’S® donkey milk. Our donkey milk is a food.

€24,90

100 ml bottle / 100ml · Unit price: €249,00 / 1 l · incl. VAT, plus shipping

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Also in our shop

Donkey Milk Powder

Donkey milk in powder form

For anyone who prefers a longer shelf life: our donkey milk in powder form – easy to store and portion.

Transparency: In the study, donkey milk was fed to piglets, not our donkey milk powder. Our donkey milk powder is a food.