Abstract
Donkey’s milk represents a good alternative to human milk because of its chemical characteristics similar to those of human’s. In present study, the pro- and anti-inflammatory effects of donkey’s milk were evaluated on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). PBMCs were isolated from 12 young and 12 aged normal subjects. PBMCs were cultured with or without the optimal and non-cytotoxic dose of pasteurized donkey’s milk, and polymyxin B was used to inhibit the possible endotoxin contamination. Following 18 hours incubation, culture supernatants were harvested to measure the secreted Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Interleukin-8 (IL-8) and Interleukin-10 (IL-10) by ELISA. Donkey’s milk significantly increased TNF-α (p= 0.01), IL-8 (p< 0.0001), IL-6 (p< 0.0001) and IL-10 (p= 0.01) levels in PBMCs. In addition, the levels of IL-6 (p= 0.002), IL-8 (p= 0.002) and TNF-α (p= 0.002) from aged subjects were significantly higher compared with young subjects. In contrast with these data, the level of IL-10 was markedly reduced from aged subjects (p= 0.02). Considering the immune-potentiation effects of donkey’s milk, it is suggested investigating milk as a beneficial dietary component for up-regulating the immune response in aged people.
Highlights
Immune senescence is a physiological phenomenon of aging, which declines the defense power resulting in infection, cancer and immune-related diseases (Ginaldi et al, 2001)
Investigation on the properties of donkey’s milk has become more popular than in the past, because it contains other factors that may be beneficial to human health (Lionetti et al, 2012)
In Italy, donkey’s milk is mainly used for newborn nutrition as a natural substitute milk when breast-feeding is not possible.It is used as a replacement to bovine milk in diet therapy of patients affected by cow’s milk protein allergy (CMPA) (Jirillo, Jirillo, Magrone, 2010; Pilla et al, 2010)
Summary
Immune senescence is a physiological phenomenon of aging, which declines the defense power resulting in infection, cancer and immune-related diseases (Ginaldi et al, 2001). Failure to produce CD4+ T-cells, decreased natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity, poor proliferative responses to antigenic stimulation and impaired cytokine production are among the outstanding features of this event (Mocchegiani, Malavolta, 2004; Linton, Lustgarten, Thoman, 2006).The use of natural products has been traditionally considered for preventing the diseases and strengthening the immunity. In this context, several studies have been carried out on immune modulatory compounds (Das, Bordoloi, Newar, 2014). Interest in donkey’s milk for human nutrition is increasing because of its distinctive composition and unique functional
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