Comparison of the nutritional quality and the fat globule size after six months of lactation of donkey and human milk

Abstract

Donkey milk is acknowledged as a valuable nutritional source in the human diet, well known for its bioactive and functional properties. Therefore, the main goal of this research was to investigate the similarities between donkey and human milk after six months of lactation with respect to the lipid composition, milk fat globule particle size distribution, antioxidant activity, and mineral content. These components are related to the nutritional properties of milk and they are important for the dairy industry as well to human health. The obtained results showed that the most dominant fatty acids in both types of milk were oleic, palmitic, and linoleic followed by lauric, capric, and alpha-linolenic acids. Donkey milk had a desirable fatty acid composition due to its high alpha-linolenic acid content and especially low omega-6/omega-3 ratio. After the fat globule distribution was analysed, it was found that fat globules smaller than 2 μm had the highest percentage in both human and donkey milk. The antioxidant activity of human milk was significantly higher at 42.95% compared to donkey milk at 35.83%. Predominant mineral in both types of milk was Ca, followed by P, Zn, Fe and Cu. Highlighting the similarity between donkey milk and human milk encourages the use of donkey milk as a potential substitute for human milk in the future.