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Veterinary sciences2025; 13(1); 7; doi: 10.3390/vetsci13010007

Effects of Feeding Strategies on Gut Microbial Communities in Donkeys: A Comprehensive Narrative Review.

Abstract: Donkeys () remain nutritionally understudied despite their critical roles in agriculture across developing regions, with current feeding practices inappropriately extrapolating horse standards without accounting for species-specific digestive physiology. No comprehensive synthesis has integrated how dietary modifications systematically alter gut microbial communities to drive measurable health outcomes in donkeys, preventing development of evidence-based feeding strategies. This review critically synthesizes current evidence on donkey nutritional requirements and gut microbiota dynamics to establish mechanistic frameworks for optimizing health and productivity. Donkeys exhibit remarkable adaptations including 30% superior fiber digestibility versus horses and specialized hindgut fermentation where microbiota provide 60-70% of metabolic energy. Targeted nutritional interventions-protein supplementation (12.52%), methionine supplementation (5-15 g/day), and optimized energy levels (10.49 MJ/kg)-have shown preliminary evidence of modulating beneficial microbial populations (, , , ), with short-term studies (typically 30-60 days, < 10 animals) indicating potential reducing oxidative stress (20-40%), decreasing inflammatory cytokines (30-50%), and improving growth performance (15-25%). However, these findings require validation through larger-scale, longer-term studies to establish sustainable effects and broader applicability. Non-conventional feeds including reed silage, bamboo leaves, and garlic byproducts offer sustainable alternatives. This narrative review uniquely establishes mechanistic pathways linking dietary modifications to microbiota changes and downstream physiological effects, providing the first comprehensive framework integrating digestive physiology, microbiota ecology, and nutritional interventions specifically for donkeys to support evidence-based, sustainable feeding strategies.
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Publication Date: 2025-12-20 PubMed ID: 41600662PubMed Central: PMC12846591DOI: 10.3390/vetsci13010007Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

Overview

  • This review article examines how different feeding strategies impact the gut microbial communities in donkeys, aiming to develop evidence-based nutritional interventions tailored to donkey-specific digestive physiology and improve their health and productivity.

Background and Importance

  • Donkeys play critical roles in agriculture, especially in developing regions, yet their nutritional needs remain poorly understood compared to other equids like horses.
  • Current feeding practices often inappropriately apply horse dietary standards to donkeys without accounting for their unique digestive physiology.
  • A lack of comprehensive understanding about how diet influences donkey gut microbiota prevents the development of optimized, species-specific feeding strategies.

Digestive Physiology and Microbiota in Donkeys

  • Donkeys display remarkable digestive adaptations:
    • About 30% superior fiber digestibility compared to horses.
    • Specialized hindgut fermentation, where microbial communities contribute 60-70% of the donkey’s metabolic energy.
  • The gut microbial communities play a crucial role in nutrient fermentation and energy extraction, impacting donkey health and growth.

Dietary Interventions and Effects on Microbiota

  • Targeted nutritional modifications explored include:
    • Protein supplementation at levels around 12.52%.
    • Methionine supplementation between 5-15 g/day.
    • Optimized energy density at approximately 10.49 MJ/kg.
  • These interventions show preliminary evidence of:
    • Modulating beneficial microbial populations in the hindgut.
    • Reducing oxidative stress markers by 20-40%.
    • Decreasing inflammatory cytokines by 30-50%.
    • Improving growth performance metrics by 15-25%.
  • However, most studies are short-term (30-60 days) with very small sample sizes (fewer than 10 donkeys), limiting the strength of conclusions.

Sustainable and Alternative Feed Sources

  • The review highlights non-conventional feed options as sustainable alternatives:
    • Reed silage.
    • Bamboo leaves.
    • Garlic byproducts.
  • These feedstuffs may support microbial health and provide environmental benefits by utilizing locally available resources.

Contributions and Future Directions

  • This is the first comprehensive narrative review to:
    • Integrate donkey digestive physiology with gut microbiota dynamics and nutritional interventions.
    • Establish mechanistic pathways linking dietary changes to microbiota shifts and downstream physiological outcomes.
    • Provide a solid framework to guide research and application of feeding strategies tailored specifically to donkeys.
  • Future research needs:
    • Larger-scale and longer-term experimental studies to validate preliminary findings.
    • Assessment of sustainable feeding strategies in diverse real-world agricultural contexts.
    • More elucidation of specific microbial populations responsible for health and productivity benefits.

Cite This Article

APA
Wei L, Wei J, Liu X, Chen W, Wang C, Khan MZ, Zhang Z. (2025). Effects of Feeding Strategies on Gut Microbial Communities in Donkeys: A Comprehensive Narrative Review. Vet Sci, 13(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci13010007

Publication

Veterinary sciences
ISSN: 2306-7381
NlmUniqueID: 101680127
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 13
Issue: 1
PII: 7

Researcher Affiliations

Wei, Lin
  • College of Agriculture and Biology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, China.
Wei, Jinjin
  • College of Agriculture and Biology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, China.
Liu, Xiaotong
  • College of Agriculture and Biology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, China.
Chen, Wenting
  • College of Agriculture and Biology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, China.
Wang, Changfa
  • College of Agriculture and Biology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, China.
Khan, Muhammad Zahoor
  • College of Agriculture and Biology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, China.
Zhang, Zhenwei
  • College of Agriculture and Biology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, China.

Grant Funding

  • 2023YFD1302004; 2022YFD1600103 / This work was funded by the National Key R&D Program of China

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflicting interests.

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