Department of Animal Biosciences, Centre for Nutrition Modelling, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.
J Anim Sci. 2021 Oct 1;99(10). doi: 10.1093/jas/skab290.
In recent years, black soldier fly larvae meal (Hermetia illucens; BSFLM) has gained attention as a high value alternative protein source that is of great interest to the pet food industry. However, little is known regarding the effects of BSFLM on health parameters in adult cats. Thus, the objective of the current study was to determine the short-term effects of a semi-synthetic diet containing 4.6% inclusion of BSFLM on complete blood count (CBC) and serum biochemistry profile of healthy adult cats. Healthy adult male cats (n = 8; 1.4 yr) were fed the experimental diet for 21 d (experimental period) to maintain BW. Cats were washed in on a commercial diet and blood samples were collected before the start and at the end of the experimental period to measure gross health parameters. Results were analyzed as one-way ANOVA using the GLIMMIX procedure in SAS with cat as a random effect (SAS v. 9.4, The SAS Institute, Cary, NC). Cats lost an average of 5% of their BW (P = 0.0003) due to a concurrent decrease in food intake. A significant increase of alanine aminotransferase, chloride, potassium, sodium, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration was observed on day 21 vs. baseline (P < 0.05). In contrast, albumin, amylase, calcium, cholesterol, eosinophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, mean platelet volume, red blood cells, total protein, total solid proteins, and urea decreased over time (P < 0.05). However, all CBC and serum biochemistry parameters stayed within reference range for adult cats, with exception of glucose and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration that were above and below the reference range, respectively. Transient increases in glucose concentrations were likely due to sedation with dexmedetomidine prior to blood collection. The changes observed over time in the aforementioned parameters are likely due to changes in macronutrient composition of the diets offered prior to and during the experimental period (commercial diet vs. semi-synthetic diet, respectively) and cannot be attributed solely to a unique property of BSFLM. In conclusion, cats fed a semi-synthetic diet containing 4% BSFLM inclusion for 21 d remained healthy with no clinically relevant changes in CBC and serum biochemistry parameters. Further research should focus on longer term feeding studies and the ability of BSFLM to support the health and well-being of cats.
近年来,黑水虻幼虫粉(Hermetia illucens;BSFLM)作为一种高价值的替代蛋白质来源,受到宠物食品行业的广泛关注。然而,关于 BSFLM 对成年猫健康参数的影响知之甚少。因此,本研究的目的是确定含有 4.6% BSFLM 的半合成饮食对健康成年猫的全血细胞计数(CBC)和血清生化谱的短期影响。健康成年雄性猫(n=8;1.4 岁)用实验饮食喂养 21 天(实验期)以维持体重。猫在开始和实验期结束时用商业饮食清洗,并采集血液样本以测量总体健康参数。使用 SAS 中的 GLIMMIX 过程(SAS v. 9.4,SAS Institute,Cary,NC)作为单向方差分析分析结果,将猫作为随机效应。由于食物摄入量同时减少,猫平均失去 5%的体重(P=0.0003)。与基线相比,第 21 天观察到丙氨酸氨基转移酶、氯、钾、钠、平均红细胞血红蛋白和平均红细胞血红蛋白浓度显著增加(P<0.05)。相反,白蛋白、淀粉酶、钙、胆固醇、嗜酸性粒细胞、淋巴细胞、单核细胞、平均血小板体积、红细胞、总蛋白、总固体蛋白和尿素随着时间的推移而减少(P<0.05)。然而,所有 CBC 和血清生化参数均在成年猫的参考范围内,除葡萄糖和平均红细胞血红蛋白浓度分别高于和低于参考范围之外。葡萄糖浓度的短暂升高可能是由于在采血前用右美托咪定镇静。上述参数随时间的变化可能是由于实验前和实验期间提供的饮食的宏量营养素组成发生变化(商业饮食与半合成饮食),而不能仅归因于 BSFLM 的独特特性。总之,用含有 4% BSFLM 摄入的半合成饮食喂养 21 天的猫保持健康,CBC 和血清生化参数无临床相关变化。进一步的研究应集中在更长时间的喂养研究和 BSFLM 支持猫的健康和福祉的能力上。