Affiliation:
1. Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università di Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Abstract
Olive oil coproducts and their phenolic extracts have shown beneficial effects when added to the diets of food-producing animals, whereas data on their effects on pets are scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation with olive flour (MOP®) on oxidative blood biomarkers in dogs. Thirty dogs were recruited and divided into two groups. Both groups were fed the same kibble feed twice daily. The treatment group (T) also received canned wet feed supplemented with 11.5 mg/kg of body weight of organic olive flour per day, whereas the control group (C) received the same wet feed without any supplementation. The findings showed that oil-free olive pulp flour supplementation led to a significant decrease in d-ROMs (p < 0.044) in the blood of the T group (from 101.26 to 86.67 U CARR), whereas no significant changes were observed in the C group. An increasing OXY trend was found in the blood of the T group. Polyphenols in olive flour at a dose of 11.5 mg/kg of body weight contributed to lowering the oxidative stress threshold in dogs, reducing the levels of d-ROMs in dogs and leading to increasing trends in the amount of blood antioxidants. The use of olive pulp flour in dog diets has proven to be beneficial for their health and could also reduce the waste associated with olive oil production.