Serum Metabolic Profiling Reveals Potential Anti-Inflammatory Effects of the Intake of Black Ginseng Extracts in Beagle Dogs

Abstract

Black ginseng (BG) has better health benefits than white ginseng. The intake of BG changes the levels of metabolites, such as amino acids, fatty acids, and other metabolites. However, there is no research on the effect of BG extract intake on the metabolic profile of dog serum. In this study, serum metabolic profiling was conducted to investigate metabolic differences following the intake of BG extracts in beagle dogs. The beagle dogs were separated into three groups and fed either a regular diet (RD, control), RD with a medium concentration of BG extract (BG-M), or RD with a high concentration of BG extract (BG-H). Differences were observed among the three groups after the dogs ingested the experimental diet for eight weeks. The concentrations of alanine, leucine, isoleucine, and valine changed with the intake of BG extracts. Furthermore, levels of glycine and β-alanine increased in the BG-H group compared to the control and BG-M groups, indicating that BG extracts are associated with anti-inflammatory processes. Our study is the first to demonstrate the potential anti-inflammatory effect of BG extract in beagle dogs. Glycine and β-alanine are proposed as candidate serum biomarkers in dogs that can discriminate between the effects of ingesting BG-H.