Scientists in Brazil are working on a lab-grown donkey collagen that might save the animals from being wiped out worldwide.

Their goal is to meet the Chinese middle class’ insatiable demand for ejiao – a traditional Chinese medicine with purported anti-ageing benefits that is derived from donkey skins – while also offering a purer product that poses less risk of contamination.

Carla Molento, a professor of animal welfare at the Federal University of Parana and head of its Cellular Animal Science Laboratory, is spearheading the project.

The veterinarian said her team was working towards “a novel system ready for scale production” of donkey hide gelatin in a bid to curb the species’ rapid decline.

“We are hoping to offer a donkey collagen product which retains all the qualities of the conventional one, as it will be encoded by the same DNA,” she said.

“Except that we will be able to ensure its purity, as none of the contamination such as heavy metals and disease risks like pathogens exist in the new production system.”