Abstract
Simple SummaryDietary sources of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids are essential in canine diets and provide many health benefits. Camelina (Camelina sativa) is a low-input, high-yield oilseed crop that produces highly unsaturated oil (~90%), has a desirable omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio, and high concentrations of tocopherols. These attributes make camelina oil a potential alternative to other plant-based oil products for canine nutrition. In the current study, we evaluated the safety of dietary camelina oil supplementation in dogs over a 16-week period in dogs by assessing body weight, body condition score, food intake, and hematology and biochemistry analytes. Differences in the results were minimal compared to dogs fed canola and flaxseed oil, which are regarded as safe for use in canine diets. Therefore, camelina oil can be considered safe for use in the nutrition of adult dogs. This study aimed to determine whether camelina oil is safe for use in canine diets, using canola oil and flax oil as controls, as they are similar and generally regarded as safe (GRAS) for canine diets. A total of thirty privately-owned adult dogs of various breeds (17 females; 13 males), with an average age of 7.2 ± 3.1 years (mean ± SD) and a body weight (BW) of 27.4 ± 14.0 kg were used. After a 4-week wash-in period using sunflower oil and kibble, the dogs were blocked by breed, age, and size and were randomly allocated to one of three treatment oils (camelina (CAM), flax (FLX), or canola (OLA)) at a level of 8.2 g oil/100 g total dietary intake. Body condition score (BCS), BW, food intake (FI), and hematological and select biochemical parameters were measured at various timepoints over a 16-week feeding period. All of the data were analyzed with ANOVA using the PROC GLIMMIX of SAS. No biologically significant differences were seen between the treatment groups in terms of BW, BCS, FI, and hematological and biochemical results. Statistically significant differences noted among some serum biochemical results were considered small and were due to normal biological variation. These results support the conclusion that camelina oil is safe for use in canine nutrition.
Highlights
Dog #14 was put on antibiotics for a urinary tract infection before week 16, and as a result, complete blood count (CBC) and biochemistry data were excluded to maintain consistency between all dogs
Only partial samples were obtained on five occasions (Dog #1, week 1; Dog #9, week 16; Dog #13, week 4 and week 10; and Dog #18, week 4), leading to some missing values in the CBC and biochemistry data
This study presents information about the effects of dietary camelina oil supplementation on body weight, body condition score, food intake, and hematology and biochemistry analytes compared to canola and flaxseed oil in healthy, adult dogs
Summary
Flax oil does have an n-6:n-3 ratio (1:4.19) that is favourable in bringing canine diets to a desirable n-6:n-3 ratio, though the continuous cropping of flaxseed oil plants is rare in North America due to their sensitivity to winter climates and diseases or pests [12,14]. This leaves room in the market for another plant-based oil that can be cultivated and that can provide high n-3 inclusion while still being economically and environmentally sustainable
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