Chicken meal is not an appropriate reference protein for estimating protein quality of ingredients used in extruded diets intended for dogs.

ABSTRACT

The indicator amino acid oxidation (IAAO) method has been used to determine metabolic availability (MA) of amino acids in feedstuffs for pigs, humans, and preliminarily for cats. Peas are a commonly used protein source in grain-free extruded dog diets. However, peas have a poor sulfur amino acid (AA) ratio (methionine [Met]cysteine) with Met being the first limiting AA. Furthermore, little is known about the MA of Met in peas fed to dogs. Therefore, our objective was to compare the MA of Met in peas to chicken meal (CM), as a gold-standard reference protein. The study was done as a replicated 5 × 5 complete Latin square design. Ten neutered male mixed-breed dogs (1.5 years old; 26.0 kg ±â€…2.4 kg body weight; BW) fed to maintain ideal BW received all dietary treatments BAS lamb-based diet (deboned lamb and lamb meal) providing Met at 50% of its requirement (0.27 g/100g dry matter [DM]), CHK CM and lamb-based diet, and PEA ground dried pea and lamb-based diet both providing Met at 68% of its requirement (0.35 and 0.37 g/100g DM, respectively). Two other treatments were created by blending BAS with PEA (BAP) and the BAS with CHK (BAC) to create diets with Met at 59% of requirement (0.32 and 0.31 g/100g DM, respectively). This resulted in three graded levels of Met for both CM and peas to allow for a slope-ratio assay approach to quantify MA with the BAS diet as the common first point. All other AAs were provided to meet at least 120% of the AAFCO recommendations for adult dogs. The BAS diet, with supplemental DL-Met, was fed for a 2-wk wash-in period. After 2 d of diet adaptation IAAO was performed. Dogs were fed 13 small meals where meal 6 contained a priming dose (9.4 mg/kg BW) of L-[1-13C]-phenylalanine (Phe; 99%) as well as a constant dose (2.4 mg/kg BW) in meals 6-13. Breath samples were collected and enrichment of 13CO2 was measured using isotope-ratio mass spectrometry to calculate the rate of Phe oxidation (F13CO2 umol/kg BW/h). Oxidation was analyzed via SAS using PROC GLIMMIX with dog and period as random effects, and diet, %Met, and their interaction as fixed effects. Unexpectedly, the slope of Phe oxidation, in response to increasing Met intake, from CM was 31% of that of peas, indicating a lower MA for Met in CM as compared to peas. This finding may be due to damage of AAs during rendering. At this time, CM in extruded diets is not an acceptable reference protein to determine MA of AAs in dogs, and the MA of Met from peas cannot be confidently assessed.

Metabolic availability (MA) of an amino acid (AA) is the portion of a dietary AA that is both digestible and available for protein synthesis. Peas are a commonly used protein source in grain-free dog foods, often included in large proportions. Methionine (Met) is an essential AA and the first limiting AA in peas so knowing the MA of Met in peas can ensure sufficient bioavailable Met is provided in these diets. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the MA of Met in peas, compared to chicken meal (CM) as a gold-standard reference protein using the indicator amino acid oxidation (IAAO) technique. The IAAO technique involves comparing the oxidation response of an ingredient to a reference protein assumed to be 100% MA. As protein synthesis is inversely proportional to oxidation, the reference protein is expected to have a lower oxidation level than the ingredient of interest. However, CM had a greater oxidation level than peas and the MA of Met in CM was 31% of that of peas. Therefore, the MA of Met in peas could not be determined indicating CM was an inappropriate reference protein, but the bioavailability of Met was greater in peas than in CM.