468 Results Found

Objective pain assessment in donkeys is of vital importance for improving welfare in a species that is considered stoic. This study presents the construction and testing of two pain scales, the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Donkey Composite Pai...

The number of donkey-breeding farms is variable around the world despite the growing popularity of this species as working animals, companion pets, for show events, in asinotherapy for children and adults with physical and mental disorders, and as a...

The Martina Franca (MF) donkey breed (Equus asinus) primarily inhabits the rural areas surrounding the homonymous municipality, as well as neighboring municipalities in the provinces of Bari and Brindisi, all located in the Apulia region of Italy. Th...

Background: Donkey milk is used in infant nutrition for the treatment of children affected by cow’s milk protein allergy, thanks to its hypo-allergenicity, mainly due to its protein profile, which is very close to that of human milk. Furthermor...

The demand for donkey hides for ejiao, a Traditional Chinese Medicine, has resulted in rapidly increasing prices for donkey hides and donkeys. This has put pressure on donkey populations globally and has implications for donkey welfare and the liveli...

Donkey milk has received increasing attention in recent years due to its unique nutritional composition and potential biological activities. This comprehensive review analyzed the main nutritional components of donkey milk, including proteins, lipids...

The microbial community in donkey milk and its impact on the nutritional value of donkey milk are still unclear. We evaluated the effects of different lactation stages on the composition and function of donkey milk microbiota. The milk samples were c...

Due to increasing attention from consumers on non-bovine milk types, and to the increase in the number of small dairy donkey farms in Italy, farmers require more advanced and reliable processing devices, in order to guarantee a safe product of high q...

The objectives of this study were to establish a donkey ethogram, followed by a donkey grimace scale to be applied to donkeys pre- and post-castration and to test if there was a notable difference in scores based on observer knowledge, gender, and ex...

Miranda’s donkey, originating in northern Portugal, is an autochthonous breed that is deeply intertwined with the region’s culture and economy. Knowledge of the physiological characteristics of the breed is important for its preservation,...

The feral donkey (Equus asinus L.) is an invasive species in Saudi Arabia and can cause severe damage to natural and cultural heritage. Over the last 30 years, feral donkeys have become a serious problem, as their abundance and geographic distributio...

The aim of this study was to compare the carcass characteristics and the chemical and physical parameters of the meat produced by 10 male crossbred donkeys and 10 male mules slaughtered at 16 ± 1 years of age. The carcass weight and dressing p...

International trade has become a major threat to biodiversity in the telecoupled world. The literature on biodiversity loss mostly concentrates on wild species; however, the increasing loss of and demand for domesticated species are overlooked. Donke...

Donkeys (Equus asinus) play a critical role in agricultural, transport, and livelihood systems across Asia, yet they remain among the most neglected domestic species in terms of welfare, management, and research attention. This review synthesizes rec...

This review article highlights the surveillance of bacterial, viral, and parasitic diseases in donkey populations in China. Key findings highlight significant threats from Equine herpesviruses (EHV-8 and EHV-1), which cause encephalitis, abortion, an...

The problem of the erosion of animal genetic resources is evident in certain local donkey breeds, and their long-term sustainability can be achieved by economically repositioning them. To develop alternative and sustainable commercial programs, the m...

This review comprehensively examines the molecular basis of donkey meat characteristics and growth-associated genes, integrating findings from multiple omics approaches. This study examines the nutritional profile of donkey meat, which is rich in pro...

The increase of knowledge on the composition of donkey milk has revealed marked similarities to human milk, which led to a growing number of investigations focused on testing the potential effects of donkey milk in vitro and in vivo. This paper exami...

Background: Whole milk is a good source of all the nutrients, and it also contains a sufficient number of vitamins to permit regular the growth of the neonate. Dairy cow milk can create allergy in infants less than 12 months old because of the high c...

The gut microbiota plays an important role in the digestion, absorption, and metabolism of nutrients, as well as in the immunity, health, and behavior of donkeys. While reference genomes and gut microbial gene catalogs have been helpful in understand...

Background: Endometritis is a common reproductive disease in equine animals. No investigation about the bacterial characteristics and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of donkeys with endometritis has thus far been reported. Objectives: To determi...

Equid anaesthetic mortality is of interest to practitioners. Data for donkey and hybrid mortality have not been specifically described. The main aim of this worldwide observational, prospective, multicentre cohort study was to report on mortality in...

Background: The diameter of mature follicles in donkeys is several times larger than in cattle and sheep, but the key genes responsible for maintaining follicular development and preventing apoptosis remain unclear. Methods: This study observed the p...

Donkeys (Equus asinus) are economically and ecologically important livestock species whose genetic potential remains underexplored. This review synthesizes recent advances in donkey genomics, tracing their evolutionary history while evaluating curren...

Donkeys, with high economic value for meat, skin and milk production, are important livestock. However, the current insights into reproduction of donkeys are far from enough. To obtain a deeper understanding, the differential expression analysis and...

Donkeys were traditionally used as draft animals for transporting cargo, as a means of transportation, and for riding purposes before the advent of mechanization. Following this historical shift, their economic significance declined, making them targ...

Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) are commonly used physiological measures in animals. While several studies exist on horse HRV, less information is available for donkeys. This scoping review aims to understand the extent and type of p...

Probiotics are beneficial to humans and animals and often used for regulating immunity, intestinal microbiota balance, and animal growth performance. Donkey husbandry has boomed in China in recent years and there is an urgent need for probiotics effe...

Human breast milk is the best nutritional support that insures the right development and influences the immune status of the newborn infant. However, when it is not possible to breast feed, it may be necessary to use commercial infant formulas that m...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of 14-day vacuum aging on the nutritional composition of donkey and horse meat. Longissimus Dorsi (LD), Semimebranosus (SM), and Rectus Femoris (RF), Semitendinosus (ST) muscles were sampled from each...

The fibrolytic enzymes and the hindgut fungi in donkey cecum-colon ecosystem play an important role in dietary fiber digestion. A better understanding of the fibrolytic enzyme profiles and the fungal community along donkey caecum and colon is key for...

Donkeys provide important resources and benefits for millions of people worldwide. However, global donkey populations are under increasing pressure from the growing demand for a traditional Chinese medicine, e’jiao, made from donkey-skin. The objecti...

The lipid molecules and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in milk are heavily influenced by diet. However, little is known about how roughage affects the lipid and VOC contents of donkey milk. Accordingly, in the present study, donkeys were fed corn...

The effect of UV-C light technology on the inactivation of six foodborne pathogens inoculated in raw donkey milk was evaluated. Fresh raw donkey milk was artificially inoculated with the following foodborne pathogens—L. inoccua (NCTC 11288), S....

The HOX gene family plays an indispensable role in regulating embryonic development, cell differentiation, and morphogenesis. This study employed bioinformatics approaches for systematic analysis, ultimately identifying 33 HOX gene family members fro...

Recently, donkeys have gained popularity mainly due to the use of donkey milk by the cosmetic industry and for human consumption. Gastrointestinal strongyles (GIS) are considered a potential cause of disease and reduced production in infected donkeys...

Donkey meat has gained popularity as an emerging meat product due to its superior nutritional value and distinctive flavor. Despite this, research on the molecular mechanisms that contribute to meat quality, particularly within the field of proteomic...

Background/Objectives: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a major cause of hospitalization and mortality worldwide, with growing interest in adjunctive therapies to enhance treatment outcomes. Donkey milk, long used in traditional medicine for res...

The donkey (Equus asinus), despite its long domestication history, has often been overlooked and is currently facing the dual challenge of genetic erosion and emerging economic opportunities. Global research indicates that although Chinese indigenous...

Equine herpesviruses are important pathogens causing significant economic loss in equine and asinine populations. EHV-1/4 strains are mainly associated with respiratory distress. The aim of this study is to report the first EHV 4-associated respirato...

This current research set out to characterize Halari donkey milk by investigating its nutritional constituents, including its proximate analysis, water activity, titratable acidity, energy, and microbiological analysis. A comprehensive profiling of v...

Intestinal strongyles are common helminths of donkeys, in which they may be responsible for disease and poor performance. This study aimed to identify intestinal strongyle genera in 55 naturally infected donkeys from three different farm typologies i...

This study aimed to evaluate essential traits of donkey’s milk and cow’s milk kefir during storage for 28 days at +4 °C. The results showed that the pH decreases significantly during fermentation from 6.75 ± 0.045 to 4.22 &plus...

Non-bovine milk is gaining more international acceptance for research and commercialization due to its usefulness as bovine milk is now reported as hypersensitive to infant’s serum due to the high concentration of the casein protein, which may...

Animal proteins are essential for the optimal growth and health of humans. Meat and milk are common sources of protein, mostly produced by ruminants. The agrarian challenges experienced around the world warrant sourcing alternative proteins from anim...

Due to its similarity with human milk and its low allergenic properties, donkey milk has long been used as an alternative for infants and patients with cow’s milk protein allergy (CMPA). In addition, this milk is attracting growing interest in...

Botulism, a severe neuroparalytic disease that can affect humans, all warm-blooded animals, and some fishes, is caused by exotoxins produced by ubiquitous, obligate anaerobic, spore-forming bacteria belonging to the genus Clostridium and named botuli...

Aflatoxin M₁ (AFM₁) is a well-known mycotoxin that can be found in the milk of animals that have ingested feed contaminated with aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁). In Italy, the development of donkey farms is mainly due to growing request of donkey milk, which is...

Quality farriery is essential to ensure donkey welfare, and many intervention programs in low-middle income countries (LMICs) train farriers, and educate owners, regarding the farriery needs of donkeys. It is essential for interventional programs to...

The relationship between humans and donkeys has ancient origins. In recent years, donkeys’ involvement in Animal-Assisted Intervention (AAI) has grown, raising major concerns about their welfare during these activities. We investigated the fact...