Digestible indispensable amino acid scores of animal and plant ingredients potentially used in dog diet formulation: how this protein quality metric is affected by ingredient characteristics and reference amino acid profile

Protein quality (PQ) of a variety of ingredients potentially used in commercial dog diet formulation was predicted using indispensable amino acid (IAA) profiles based on estimated physiological requirements as well as practical recommendations from various pet food regulatory bodies. The selection of IAA reference patterns based either on physiological requirements or practical dietary recommendations greatly affected the predicted PQ of the ingredients, ultimately supporting a need for optimization of PQ equations used in the pet food industry so as to align with those used in the human food industry. Lay Summary Indispensable amino acids (IAA) are nutrients a dog requires, but that the dog cannot create naturally, so must be included in their diet. A concept known as protein quality (PQ) reflects how closely the IAA profile of an ingredient comes to meeting the dogs' requirements. The focus of this report was to use IAA data from literature to predict PQ using equations to determine digestible indispensable amino acid scores (defined herein as DIAAS-like values) of ingredients used in dog diets. Additionally, as various resources exist that define dogs' IAA needs differently, either based on physiological requirements or practical recommendations, we assessed how these differences may affect PQ. Ultimately, while PQ should be assessed utilizing physiological requirements of the population of interest, individual ingredient and ingredient category differences in DIAAS-like values when using practical recommendations rather than physiological requirements highlight the different regulatory approaches to developing these recommendations. The ability of a diet or an ingredient to satisfy the indispensable amino acid (IAA) requirements of an individual is a reflection of protein quality (PQ). The concept of PQ is gaining recognition in the pet food industry as a way to identify candidate ingredients for diet formulation. The objective of this report was to use IAA digestibility data from swine and cecectomized rooster assays to generate digestible IAA scores (defined herein as DIAAS-like values) to predict the PQ of ingredients used in dog diets. However, as PQ equation development relies on a reference IAA profile, which is intended to be based on the physiological requirements of a specific population, we sought to generate DIAAS-like values using IAA requirements established by the National Research Council (NRC) as well as practical IAA recommendations presented by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) and European Pet Food Industry Federation (FEDIAF), to assess how these profiles may affect PQ. In total, 30 animal (75 unique inputs) and 27 plant ingredients (94 unique inputs) satisfied all inclusion criteria to be used in the final data set. Ingredients were initially categorized as animal or plant, and further categorized based on AAFCO Official Common and Usual Names and Definitions of Feed Ingredients to allow for additional, more distinct comparisons to be made. Data were analyzed using PROC GLIMMIX in SAS, with ingredient reference as a random effect, and ingredient category, regulatory body, and life stage as fixed effects. As expected, differences were observed in DIAAS-like values for nearly all ingredients and ingredient categories when determined using NRC, AAFCO, or FEDIAF IAA requirements or recommendations as the reference pattern. Moreover, applying reference patterns based on NRC adult maintenance IAA requirements consistently produced the lowest DIAAS-like values. Ultimately, while future studies assessing PQ should utilize NRC minimal requirements, individual ingredient and ingredient category differences in DIAAS-like values when using AAFCO and FEDIAF recommendations underpin the different regulatory approaches to establishing dietary nutrient recommendations that exist globally and support the need for harmonization of dietary recommendations.

Automated summary

This study predicts the protein quality (PQ) of ingredients used in commercial dog diet formulation based on indispensable amino acid (IAA) profiles. The choice of IAA reference patterns, whether based on physiological requirements or practical recommendations, significantly affects the predicted PQ of the ingredients. These findings highlight the need for harmonization of PQ equations used in the pet food industry with those used in the human food industry.