Development of baked biscuits containing propolis and pomegranate for oral health in dogs

Sodium hexametaphosphate binds with calcium present in saliva, preventing dental plaque mineralization. It is widely used in commercial snacks for dogs to aid oral health. Some botanical extracts and propolis reduce halitosis and gingival inflammation by limiting bacterial proliferation. Thus, the aims of this study were to develop baked biscuits using pomegranate and propolis extracts and to compare their effect on the oral health of dogs with that of sodium hexametaphosphate. To this end, five types of baked biscuits were evaluated: negative control without the use of additive (CN); positive control with the addition of 0.6 % sodium hexametaphosphate (SHP); with the addition of 0.9 % propolis extract (PE); with the addition of 0.9 % pomegranate peel extract (PPE); and with the addition of a blend of 0.9 % pomegranate peel extract + 0.9 % propolis extract (BLEND). After preparing the biscuits, hardness and water activity were measured. Then, 40 client-owned dogs of different breeds and sizes and aged 3-8 years were selected to consume the biscuits. The study followed a completely randomized experimental design for five treatments, with eight dogs per treatment; each dog was considered a repeat. For the integration of the area covered by dental calculus, the surface of the teeth on the left and right sides of the dogs' dental arch were photographed weekly and the images were analyzed using the Image-Pro (R) Plus software, which calculated the percentage of area covered by dental calculus compared to the total surface area of the affected teeth. The experiment lasted for 28 days. Regarding the texture of the biscuits, the use of propolis extract alone and control reduced the texture of the biscuits when compared with other treatments (P < 0.05).). The water activity of all treatments differed from each other-CN = 0.426 a.w.; SPH = 0.346 a.w.; PE = 0.308 a.w.; PPE = 0.308 a.w., and BLEND = 0.245 a.w. (P < 0.05). The treatments with SHP (29.4 %) and PPE (26.8 %) showed the highest reduction in the area covered by dental calculus (P > 0.05), followed by the treatment with BLEND (20.35 %) (P > 0.05); the control (10.99 %) and PE (6.36 %) treatments showed low mean values, which were not significantly different from each other. PPE and BLEND achieved better hardness and water activity for the baked biscuits than other treatments. Similar to SHP, PPE was efficient at reducing the area covered by dental calculus.

Automated summary

This study aimed to compare the effects of using pomegranate and propolis extracts on the oral health of dogs with that of sodium hexametaphosphate. The results showed that sodium hexametaphosphate and pomegranate peel extract had the best effect in reducing the area covered by dental calculus.