Short communication: Technological and seasonal variations of vitamin D and other nutritional components in donkey milk

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient that plays a crucial role in calcium homeostasis and bone metabolism and also acts as a hormone. Although several studies on the content of vitamin D in bovine milk have been conducted, little information is available regarding donkey milk. In the context of the nutritional assessment of donkey milk, the aim of this study was to assess the vitamin D content in donkey milk and its chemical profile, with particular reference to seasonal and technological modifications after pasteurization. The study was conducted on a dairy farm that produces donkey milk for human consumption located in central Italy. At sampling time, an aliquot of total bulk milk production was sampled before and after pasteurization (63°C for 30 min without homogenization) with a total of 20 raw and 20 pasteurized milk samples. The samples were collected for 10 mo, every 15 d, from May to February 2017. All the samples were analyzed for the chemical composition and vitamin D2 and D3 content by HPLC after saponification. The donkey milk analyzed showed a higher average vitamin D content (raw milk: vitamin D2 = 1.68, vitamin D3 = 0.60 μg/100 mL; pasteurized milk: vitamin D2 = 1.38, vitamin D3 = 0.30 μg/100 mL) than reported for bovine and human milk. The results of the effect of pasteurization on milk did not highlight significant differences in the total content of vitamin D. However, vitamin D3 has a poor thermal stability, which led to a significant reduction in content in pasteurized milk compared with raw milk. The total vitamin D content of donkey milk did not show significant variations between seasons; however, a higher concentration of vitamin D3 was found in spring and summer. In conclusion, raw and pasteurized donkey milk showed a high content of vitamin D, which could be useful in meeting the deficiencies of this vitamin in humans. Further investigations are needed to improve the vitamin D content in donkey milk by increasing its endogenous synthesis or its transfer in milk and to clarify other variability factors.