Abstract
The popularity of plant-based protein sources has increased as consumer demand for grain-free and novel protein sources increase. Minimal research has been conducted as regards to use of legumes and yeast and their effects on acceptability and digestibility in canine diets. The objective of this study was to evaluate macronutrient apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD), gastrointestinal tolerance, and fermentative end-products in extruded, canine diets. Five diets were formulated to be isocaloric and isonitrogenous with either garbanzo beans (GBD), green lentils (GLD), peanut flour (PFD), dried yeast (DYD), or poultry by-product meal (CON) as the primary protein sources. Ten adult, intact, female beagles (mean age: 4.2 ± 1.1 yr, mean weight: 11.9 ± 1.3 kg) were used in a replicated, 5 × 5 Latin square design with 14 d periods. Each experimental period consisted of 10 d of diet adaptation, followed by 4 d of total fecal and urine collection. A fasted, 5 ml blood sample was collected at the end of each period and analyzed for serum metabolites and complete blood count. Serum metabolites were within normal ranges and all dogs remained healthy throughout the study. Fecal quality, evaluated on a 5-point scale, was considered ideal. Macronutrient ATTD was similar among dietary treatments, with diets highly digestible (>80%). Total fecal branched-chain fatty acid concentrations were highest (P < 0.05) for DYD (23.4 μmol/g) than GLD (16.1 μmol/g) and PFD (16.0 μmol/g) but not different (P > 0.05) than other treatments. The plant-based protein treatments had greater (P < 0.05) total fecal short chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations (average 627.6 μmol/g) compared with CON (381.1 μmol/g). Fecal butyrate concentration was highest (P < 0.05) for DYD than all other dietary treatments (103.9 μmol/g vs. average 46.2 μmol/g). Fecal microbial communities showed Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Fusobacteria, and Proteobacteria as abundant phyla. There was greater β-diversity for dogs fed DYD which differed from all other diets in both weighted and unweighted UNIFRAC analyses. Inclusion of these novel, plant-based, protein sources showed no detrimental effects on nutrient digestibility or fecal characteristics and represent viable protein sources in canine diets that can produce beneficial shifts in fecal metabolites.
Highlights
Recent trends in the pet food industry have centered on providing high-protein diets that contain novel protein sources
Minimal research has been conducted as regards to the effects on acceptability, digestibility, and fecal characteristics of legumes and yeast when used as main protein sources in extruded canine diets
It was hypothesized that extruded diets containing legumes or yeast would result in similar macronutrient digestibility to poultry by-product meal (CON), as most of the anti-nutritional factors would be deactivated during thermal processing
Summary
Recent trends in the pet food industry have centered on providing high-protein diets that contain novel protein sources. Pulses, and yeast, have been identified as alternatives to traditional protein sources (i.e., animal-derived protein) to satisfy consumer demand for non-traditional diets, such as grainfree, while simultaneously meeting the nutritional requirements of dogs. The inclusion of legumes and pulses (crops in the Leguminosae family harvested for the dry grain) can negatively impact digestibility and fecal quality due to presence of anti-nutritional factors and oligosaccharides [1, 2]. They are proteinrich ingredients that are incorporated into pet diets because of their low lipid content [3, 4]. Greater saccharolytic fermentation was expected in dogs fed the legume or yeast containing-diets due to their intrinsically greater dietary fiber content and composition
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
