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Research on donkey milk · Study 51
Sugars you can’t taste: oligosaccharides from donkey milk
A research team from China determined which milk oligosaccharides occur in donkey milk and then tested these sugars on three intestinal cell lines in the laboratory. The focus: two sialyllactoses that are also known from human milk.
What it's about
The small sugars of milk
Besides milk sugar, milk also contains oligosaccharides: short chains of several sugar units. They are hardly digested in the small intestine and reach the gut largely unchanged. In human milk, they are among the most intensively researched components.
Little was previously known about the oligosaccharides of donkey milk. The team therefore first determined which of these sugars occur at all and in what quantity. It then tested in the laboratory how an oligosaccharide extract obtained from them affects intestinal cells.
What exactly was studied?
Briefly explained
Terms from the study
Short chains of three to ten sugar units. In milk they occur alongside milk sugar.
Milk sugar with attached sialic acid. Depending on the binding site, it is called 3′- or 6′-sialyllactose.
The transition of a cell into its mature, specialised form – here: typical intestinal cell features.
p38 is a signalling pathway that helps control cell division. G2/M is the phase just before a cell divides.
Oligosaccharides separated from donkey milk and enriched.
Composition analysed and the sialyllactoses quantified.
Three intestinal cell lines treated with different concentrations of the extract.
Division, maturation, cell death and cell cycle of the cells evaluated.
Interactive · The data at a glance
From milk sugar to the intestinal cell
Which oligosaccharides were found, how much sialyllactose the milk contained, which cells were tested, what changed – and which signalling pathway was behind it. Switch between the views.
02040 mg/L
In HT-29 cells, more cells remained in the G2/M phase, i.e. just before actual cell division.
At the same time, the p38 signalling pathway was activated. The authors see this as the mechanism behind the observed effects.
Values from the abstract and supplementary material of the study. Concentrations and measured values of the cell experiment are only included in the paid full text.
Key findings
What the researchers report
Sialyllactoses are the main group
8 oligosaccharidesAmong the oligosaccharides detected, the sialylated forms dominated. 18.3 mg/L of 3′-sialyllactose and 33.1 mg/L of 6′-sialyllactose were measured.
More mature cells, less division
3 intestinal cell linesThe extract slowed cell division and enhanced differentiation and apoptosis, the more clearly the higher the concentration.
p38 signalling pathway activated
HT-29 · G2/M phaseIn HT-29 cells, the effect was accompanied by activation of the p38 signalling pathway and an arrest in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle.
The authors conclude that the oligosaccharides of donkey milk can promote the maturation of intestinal cells in the laboratory and see their work as a basis for further research, for example on infant nutrition.
Critical assessment
A building block, not proof
What the study shows
What it does not show
Research question for DON DONKEY’S®
How many oligosaccharides are in our donkey milk?
The study provides the first quantitative data for sialyllactoses in donkey milk. What interests us is how much these values vary between farms, mares and lactation stages – and how they behave after freezing or drying into powder.
Original publication
Oligosaccharides of donkey milk, their influence on the growth of intestinal cells and G2/M cell cycle arrest via the p38 pathway in HT-29 cells
Title rendered in English according to its meaning.
Wang J., Lei B., Yan J., Li J., Zhou X., Ren F., Guo H.
Food & Function · 2019 · volume 10, issue 8, pp. 4823–4833
DOI: 10.1039/C8FO02584C
A cell experiment with isolated oligosaccharides from donkey milk – no product-related statement for DON DONKEY’S®.
Summarised and reviewed by the DON DONKEY’S editorial team on the basis of the original publication · as of October 2026
The study summarised above was carried out independently of DON DONKEY’S® and does not relate to our products. It serves solely to inform about the state of research.
DON DONKEY’S® donkey milk and donkey milk powder are foods. They are not intended to prevent, treat or cure any disease and do not replace medical advice.
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
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.
20g · Unit price: €1.245,00 / 1 kg · incl. VAT, plus shipping