PSVIII-14 - Improved palatability and digestibility in dry dog food using a porcine intestinal mucosa hydrolysate

Abstract: A proper diet for a dog is one that provides all the required nutrients and is highly digestible. In order for the ingredients to be delivered to the organism, this diet should be highly palatable. Currently, research is being conducted on the possibility of introducing new sources of animal protein, thus replacing traditional meat meals. A new source of protein, together with increasing the digestibility and palatability of the dry petfood while maintaining the price of the recipe, is an expected success. Porcine intestinal mucosa hydrolysate (PIMH) products are high-quality, sustainable, and inexpensive protein sources obtained from porcine intestinal mucosa as byproduct of the heparin manufacturing process. PIMH are being used as alternative protein sources in several animal species. The present study aimed to determine the effects of incorporating 3% PIMH (Palbio HP, Bioiberica SAU, Palafolls, Spain) as replacement for poultry meal on digestibility and palatability of dog dry food.

The palatability test was conducted on a professional, independent panel of dogs. The test lasted 4 days with 20 adult dogs. Apparent digestibility and feces quality were also assessed in a digestibility test under the supervision of veterinarians in a 10-day experiment. The tested diets a diet which serve as reference of a commercial dry dog food (Control diet) and a diet in which 3% PIMH was incorporated as replacement for poultry meal (PIMH diet). Palatability evaluation was performed in a two-pan setting in which first choice and consumption ratio were quantified and compared over four days. A Chi square test was used for the statistical analysis and a p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

A significant improvement in palatability was observed with the PIMH diet. More specifically, first choice results were statistically significantly higher during the four days of the study with PIMH (82%, 88%, 89% and 100%, respectively) compared to Control. Likewise, consumption ratio was also statistically significantly higher with PIMH over the four study days (84%, 87%, 86% and 93%, respectively). On the other hand, the PIMH diet showed a higher digestibility (77.98%) compared to the Control diet (73.95%), as well as a better feces score (0% unacceptable feces vs 4.2% in the Control group).

In conclusion, using 3% Palbio HP PIMH in dry dog food as replacement for poultry meal leads to enhanced palatability and digestibility, while it has no negative impact on feces quality or diet costs.