The prolongation of life span has attracted more and more attention in the current world. Gut microbiota is considered one of the most critical elements and is essential in regulating life span and quality. The effects of donkey whey protein (DWP) and donkey whey hydrolysate (DWPP) on physiological functions and gut microbiota of D-galactose-induced aging mice were investigated to find new strategies for resisting aging. Our results showed that DWP and DWPP could increase the body weight gain velocity, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and thymus index, whereas decrease the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA), and improve the aging of the body in the liver congestion, oozy draw focal sclerosis of chronic inflammation. The effects of medium and high concentrations of DWP and low and medium concentrations of DWPP were the same as the vitamin C (Vc)-positive control group. It was found that both DWP and DWPP could change α-diversity; the relative abundance of Lactobacillus increased, whereas the relative abundance of Helicobacter and Stenotrophomonas decreased after being treated with DWP and DWPP. The correlation between intestinal microflora and physiological indexes showed that chao1, ACE, and observed species indexes in the α index were positively correlated with weight gain velocity, SOD activity, and thymus index. The relative abundance of Lactobacillus was positively correlated with SOD and thymus index but negatively correlated with MDA. The relative abundance of Stenotrophomonas was opposite to that of Lactobacillus. The Anaerobiospirillum, Fusobacterium, and Dubosiella had a significant positive correlation with the weight gain velocity. The study provided a deeper more profound understanding of the potential use of DWP and DWPP in senescence delays.
Keywords: aging; donkey whey hydrolysate; donkey whey protein; gut microbiota.
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