Publikationsdatenbank

Incorporating legumes, wheat, and ouinoa into canine diets:
how does it affect the canine digestive physiology and metabolism? (2024)

Art

Vortrag

Autor

Zentek, Jürgen (WE 4)

Kongress

retaste - rethink food resources, losses, and waste 2024

Griechenland, 25. – 27.09.2024

Quelle

Retaste: rethink food resources, losses, and waste : conference abstracts

— S. 1–2

Sprache

Englisch

Verweise

URL (Volltext): https://retaste.gr/pdf/abstract_2024.php?id=672

Kontakt

Institut für Tierernährung

Königin-Luise-Str. 49
14195 Berlin
+49 30 838 52256
tierernaehrung@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

Abstract / Zusammenfassung

Including plant protein instead of animal by-products in pet food might have environmental benefits related to the lower carbon footprint of such products. Research indicates that dogs can digest plant-based and animal proteins equally well. Despite many pet owners' preference for alternatives to grain, such as pseudo-cereals, there is a lack of comprehensive scientific data on their effectiveness and safety. This underscores the need for further research to develop healthy dietary options for dogs. The present study aimed to compare the effects of diets based on plant or animal proteins, both with and without the addition of grains, in dogs. The influence of different carbohydrate sources (grain and quinoa) in combination with protein sources (poultry meal and peas + beans) and varying protein concentrations was examined as a three-factorial design. The protein supply was calculated to cover the requirement for essential amino acids. In cases of a high provision, the amount of protein or amino acids was increased 1.5 times.
Statistical evaluation included three-factorial ANOVA and Tukey tests (p < 0.05). The diets had minor effects on the apparent digestibility of crude nutrients. The type of protein in the diets significantly affected (p < 0.001) the richness of microbial sequences found in the feces. Feeding diets with animal protein resulted in the highest microbial richness in fecal samples. Such diets also increased the fecal presence of Fusobacteria (p
< 0.001), whereas diets with plant proteins predominantly increased the relative presence of Actinobacteria (p = 0.040). Urine pH levels in dogs fed diets containing wheat and poultry protein (5.73 - 6.30) were lower than after feeding diets with quinoa (7.20 - 7.47). An exception occurred in the combination of wheat and plant proteins in the diets, which resulted in a higher urine pH (7.42) at higher protein dosages. As anticipated, urinary nitrogen levels increased with increased protein consumption. The different protein sources caused slight variations in blood parameters. Serum urea and
albumin levels were significantly affected by the protein content in the diet (p < 0.001; p = 0.004). With the inclusion of quinoa, there was an increase in the serum alanine aminotransferase activity compared to feeding diets containing wheat (p = 0.017), as well as elevated bilirubin levels (p = 0.031). The activity of alkaline phosphatase in the serum was higher, when diets with quinoa were fed compared to the dietary wheat treatments (p = 0.030), and was lower with a higher protein intake than with Page 2 of 2 adequate supply (p < 0.001). The dietary inclusion of both animal and plant-based protein sources, alongside variations in protein concentration and carbohydrate types, has impacts on blood parameters, the urine pH, and the fecal microbiota of healthy adult dogs.