Process and uses of alternative carbohydrate sources in pet foods and treats

Master of ScienceDepartment of Grain Science and IndustryGreg AldrichThe pet food industry has been rapidly growing for years. This growth has been driven by new product development which emphasized new ingredients and food forms. Starch sources are prominent ingredients in both complete & balance diets, and in snacks & treats. The overall objective of this project was to evaluate the performance of uncommon starch sources in dry expanded pet food, and in a novel dog treat. First, two dry expanded dog diets were formulated containing different types of starches: an ancient grain (AG; including spelt, millet and sorghum), and a grain-free diet (GF, including peas, potatoes, and tapioca starch). Experimental diets were evaluated for their impact on the extrusion process and nutrient utilization by dogs. A greater specific mechanical energy (141 vs. 117 kJ/kg) and in-barrel moisture (38.2 vs. 30.3 %) input were observed for GF compared to AG. The GF kibbles were more expanded (3.5 vs. 3) and harder (6.36 vs. 3.12 kg) than the AG. Apparent total tract digestibility of most nutrients was similar between AG and GF with exception of total dietary fiber which was 32% greater for dogs fed GF (P0.05), but RSF exhibited higher initial (66.56 vs. 63.34 °C) and peak gelatinization (73.89 vs. 72.42 °C) temperatures. However, these differences did not influence the extrusion process. The WSF and RSF were extruded under similar processing parameters which resulted in expanded crisps with similar characteristics (P>0.05). Last, the use of sorghum crisps and soluble animal protein binders were evaluated for their effect on a cereal bar application for dogs. The experiment was conducted as a 3 x 5 factorial arrangement of treatments with three sources of crisp (rice crisp, RC; white sorghum crisp, WSC; and red sorghum crisp, RSC) and five sources of binder (corn syrup, CS; spray dried plasma, SDP; gelatin, GL; albumin, AL; and egg product, EP). Texture properties of each dietary treatment were evaluated, and dog’s preferences were assessed by a preference ranking test. Regarding textural properties, a significant binder by crisp source interaction was observed (P<0.05); wherein, the cereal bar produced with CS and RC presented the highest toughness. Cereal bars were well accepted by dogs and WSC cereal bars produced with SDP were preferred over those produced with EP (P<0.05). These studies demonstrate that starch sources may behave differently during extrusion processing, and can impact nutrient utilization and dog preference in complete & balanced diets, and in snacks & treats application. Characterization of raw materials and processing are essential to the development of new products that optimize both animal nutrition and processing conditions

High-energy diet does not overcome the negative impact of conjugated linoleic acid on young broiler performance

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) supplementation in diets with different energy levels in broiler performance. Birds were offered a starter (1-21 d), grower (22-35 d) and finisher (36-42 d) diets; wherein soybean oil was replaced by CLA. The study consisted of a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement with two CLA levels (0 and 1%) and three energy levels (3050, 3100 and 3150 ME kg-1 diet). During the grower and finisher periods, birds were fed diets with same energy level and CLA supplementation was maintained the same. Growth performance was assessed weekly, and carcass and cuts yield were assessed at 42d. Interaction effect of CLA by energy level was observed in broiler performance and carcass yield throughout the study (p > 0.05). During the overall period (1-42 d) broiler performance was not affected by CLA (p > 0.05).However, CLA supplementation (1%) decreased weight gain (p 0.05). The increase in dietary energy was not able to compensate the negative effect on growth performance of broilers supplemented with 1% CLA at the starter period

Effects of autoclaving on compressive strength of bovine bones and their use as chewing agents for dogs

This study aimed to evaluate the ef- fect of autoclave processing on compressive stress of spongy and cortical bones, and the effect of autoclaved bones as chewing agents to reduce dental calculus in adult dogs. Spongy and cor- tical bones were autoclaved (1 ATM, 30 min, and 120°C) and compressive strength was evaluated in autoclaved and raw bone specimens. Autoclaved bones were offered to ten Beagle dogs divided into two groups of 5 dogs each: Group 1 – received a portion of the autoclaved bovine cortical bone (ACB) and Group 2 – received a portion of the autoclaved bovine spongy bone (ASB). Prior to the experimental period (1-d) and every two days thereafter, oral photographs were taken on both sides of the dental arch to evaluate dental calculus reduction over time. The vestibular surface of the canines, premolars, and molars teeth was evaluated using integration software to measure the propor- tion between the area covered by calculus and the total teeth area. The effect of bone type, treatment (raw vs. autoclaved), and their interaction were evaluated using the PROC GLIMMIX procedure of SAS (version 9.4). Linear equations were gen- erated to estimate calculus reduction over time for ACB and ASB. Compressive strength was higher (P 0.05) compressive strength, regard- less of the bone type. The teeth area covered by calculus of dogs that were offered ACB reduced from 41% to 32% in 5 days, and at the end of 15 days a reduction of 62.2% was observed, re- sulting in a remaining of 15.5% of teeth area cov- ered by calculus. In this group, the dental calculus area reduced by 57.7% after 5 days, and at the end of the trial, only 5.4% of teeth were still covered by calculus, which represents a reduction of 81%. The linear regression analysis revealed no signifi- cant difference between the slopes for the ACB and ASB equations (P > 0.05). No health compli- cations such as tooth fracture, intestinal obstruc- tions, and oral lesions were observed throughout the study. Our results demonstrated that the autoclave processing did not impair compressive strength of spongy and cortical bones. This cor- roborates with the results observed in vivo, which suggests that autoclaved bones are chewing agents for adult dogs with additional benefits of lower risk of bacterial contamination

Influência do tamanho corporal de cães na fisiologia do trato gastrointestinal e na microbiota fecal

A grande diversidade de raças caninas encontradas atualmente é decorrente da domesticação e seleção natural realizada pelo homem. A necessidade de cães com características específicas para certas atividades, ou simplesmente a busca de um fenótipo desejado pela população, fizeram com que o homem se utilizasse das ferramentas do melhoramento genético e cruzamentos programados para criação de novas raças. Apesar de todas pertencerem a mesma espécie, Canis familiaris, o peso e tamanho corporal entre as raças é de extrema variabilidade, com pesos variando de 1kg para um Chihuahua até 100kg para um São Bernardo (Weber et al., 2004). Estas diferenças são acompanhadas também por particularidades na fisiologia do trato gastrointestinal, resultando em produção fecal com maior teor de umidade e maior frequência de defecação em raças de grande porte comparado com raças de pequeno porte. Nesses cães, o tempo de permanência do conteúdo alimentar no intestino grosso é maior, o que leva a uma maior fermentação do material proveniente do intestino delgado. A fermentação tem como um dos seus principais produtos os ácidos graxos de cadeira curta, os quais possuem propriedades osmóticas que atraem água e sódio para luz intestinal, resultando em uma maior umidade fecal. Além disso, os cães de grande porte apresentam maior permeabilidade intestinal e menor digestibilidade dos íons sódio e potássio, levando a maior concentração dos mesmos no lúmen intestinal e maior atração de água para as fezes. A adição de fibras de baixa fermentabilidade, o controle da quantidade e qualidade dos ingredientes proteicos e de carboidratos são essenciais para formulação de dietas completas e balanceadas para cães de grande porte afim de minimizar a pior qualidade fecal observada nesses animais.The great diversity of canine breeds currently found is due to the domestication and natural selection performed by the man. The need for dogs with specific characteristics for certain activities, or simply the search for a desired phenotype by the population, made the man use genetic tools and programmed crosses to create new breeds. Although they all belong to the same species, Canis familiaris, the weight and body size between the breeds is extremely variable, with weights ranging from 1kg for a Chihuahua to 100kg for a São Bernardo (Weber et al., 2004). These differences are followed by particularities in the physiology of the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in fecal production with higher moisture content and higher frequency of defecation in large breeds compared to small breeds. In these dogs, the time that the food remains in the large intestine is longer, which leads to a greater fermentation of the material coming from the small intestine. The fermentation has as one of its main products the short-chain fatty acids, which have osmotic properties that attract water and sodium to the intestinal lumen, resulting in a greater fecal humidity. In addition, large breed dogs show greater intestinal permeability and lower digestibility of sodium and potassium ions, leading to their higher concentration in the intestinal lumen and greater water attraction to feces. The addition of low fermentable fibers, control of the quantity and quality of protein and carbohydrate ingredients are essential to formulate complete and balanced diets for large dogs in order to minimize the poor fecal quality observed in these animals

Influência do tamanho corporal de cães na fisiologia do trato gastrointestinal e na microbiota fecal

A grande diversidade de raças caninas encontradas atualmente é decorrente da domesticação e seleção natural realizada pelo homem. A necessidade de cães com características específicas para certas atividades, ou simplesmente a busca de um fenótipo desejado pela população, fizeram com que o homem se utilizasse das ferramentas do melhoramento genético e cruzamentos programados para criação de novas raças. Apesar de todas pertencerem a mesma espécie, Canis familiaris, o peso e tamanho corporal entre as raças é de extrema variabilidade, com pesos variando de 1kg para um Chihuahua até 100kg para um São Bernardo (Weber et al., 2004). Estas diferenças são acompanhadas também por particularidades na fisiologia do trato gastrointestinal, resultando em produção fecal com maior teor de umidade e maior frequência de defecação em raças de grande porte comparado com raças de pequeno porte. Nesses cães, o tempo de permanência do conteúdo alimentar no intestino grosso é maior, o que leva a uma maior fermentação do material proveniente do intestino delgado. A fermentação tem como um dos seus principais produtos os ácidos graxos de cadeira curta, os quais possuem propriedades osmóticas que atraem água e sódio para luz intestinal, resultando em uma maior umidade fecal. Além disso, os cães de grande porte apresentam maior permeabilidade intestinal e menor digestibilidade dos íons sódio e potássio, levando a maior concentração dos mesmos no lúmen intestinal e maior atração de água para as fezes. A adição de fibras de baixa fermentabilidade, o controle da quantidade e qualidade dos ingredientes proteicos e de carboidratos são essenciais para formulação de dietas completas e balanceadas para cães de grande porte afim de minimizar a pior qualidade fecal observada nesses animais.The great diversity of canine breeds currently found is due to the domestication and natural selection performed by the man. The need for dogs with specific characteristics for certain activities, or simply the search for a desired phenotype by the population, made the man use genetic tools and programmed crosses to create new breeds. Although they all belong to the same species, Canis familiaris, the weight and body size between the breeds is extremely variable, with weights ranging from 1kg for a Chihuahua to 100kg for a São Bernardo (Weber et al., 2004). These differences are followed by particularities in the physiology of the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in fecal production with higher moisture content and higher frequency of defecation in large breeds compared to small breeds. In these dogs, the time that the food remains in the large intestine is longer, which leads to a greater fermentation of the material coming from the small intestine. The fermentation has as one of its main products the short-chain fatty acids, which have osmotic properties that attract water and sodium to the intestinal lumen, resulting in a greater fecal humidity. In addition, large breed dogs show greater intestinal permeability and lower digestibility of sodium and potassium ions, leading to their higher concentration in the intestinal lumen and greater water attraction to feces. The addition of low fermentable fibers, control of the quantity and quality of protein and carbohydrate ingredients are essential to formulate complete and balanced diets for large dogs in order to minimize the poor fecal quality observed in these animals

The Time Course of Inflammatory Biomarkers Following a One-Hour Exercise Bout in Canines: A Pilot Study

There is little information available to describe the inflammatory consequences of and recovery from moderate-intensity exercise bouts in hunting dogs. The purpose of the current study is to generate pilot data on the appearance and disappearance of biomarkers of inflammation and inflammation resolution following a typical one-hour exercise bout in basset hounds. Four hounds were set out to find a scent and freely adopted running or walking over wooded terrain for approximately one hour. Venous blood samples were obtained before the exercise and at 1, 2, 4, 6, and 10 h following cessation of exercise and were analyzed for biomarkers of inflammation (prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), nitric oxide (NO), interleukin 1&beta; (IL-1&beta;)) tumour necrosis factor-&alpha; (TNF-&alpha;)), and inflammation resolution (resolvin D1 (RvD1)). There was an increase in inflammation one hour after the exercise, shown by a significant increase in PGE2. Following this peak, PGE2 steadily declined at the same time as RvD1 increased, with RvD1 peaking at six hours. This pilot study provides evidence that dogs that undergo an hour of hunt exercise experience transient inflammation that peaks one hour after the end of exercise; inflammation resolution peaks six hours after the end of exercise. Future studies should seek to further understand the distinct and combined roles of PGE2 and RvD1 in dog adaptation to exercise stress