Inclusion of Essential Oils in the Diet and Effects on the Immune and Antioxidant Response of Elderly Dogs

• Grant number: 24/06878-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2024
• End date: November 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: Thiago Henrique Annibale Vendramini
• Grantee: Mário Rodrigues Lima
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The significant growth in the pet population observed in recent decades highlights the greater proximity and interaction between humans and animals, as well as demonstrating the important emotional bond established in this relationship, which contributes favorably to those involved, especially with regard to behavioral, psychological, social and emotional aspects of men. The emotional bond established in the human-pet relationship highlights the importance of scientific measures and advances that aim to guarantee health, quality of life and longevity for pets. Given this, the animal nutrition market, by encouraging scientific research, is looking for new resources and nutritional solutions to prevent premature aging and increase the life expectancy and health of pets. Therefore, the present work will be developed with the objective of evaluating the inclusion of essential oils in the diet of healthy elderly dogs and their effects on the immunological and antioxidant response, as well as on the dogs' biochemical variables. In view of the hypothesis that the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of Thyme and Alfavacão essential oils can reduce the harmful effects of oxidative stress and worsening of inflammation, delaying the aging process. In this experiment, a completely randomized design will be adopted. 16 elderly and healthy dogs will be used, being distributed into two groups based on the diet provided: Control Group, feeding a balanced diet without the inclusion of essential oils; Test Group, fed with a balanced diet containing 150 ppm of a blend of essential oils. The data obtained will be analyzed using the SAS (Statistical Analysis System) software. Values of p<0.05 will be considered significant.