Curcumin: A Dog’s Superfood

Curcumin comes from a plant you may already be familiar with, turmeric, which gives it its bright yellow appearance.

Researchers at the Santa Catarina State University in Brazil, studied this compound to determine its potential as a substitute for synthetic antioxidants in dog food. To test their theory, they extracted the curcumin with additional micronutrients as one batch, then created another batch using the same formula without the curcumin.

After storing both batches for six months, the feed composition and pH remained unchanged for the second batch, while the dog food made with curcumin had a higher antioxidant capacity and lower protein oxidation and lipid peroxidation.

The researchers then proceeded to the next step in their experiment which was feeding the batches to their focus group. Both groups consisted of six young Beagle dogs. The feeding regimen was twice a day in individual kennels.

On days one, 35, and 42, blood samples were drawn from each dog and sent to the lab for analysis. It was discovered that the Beagle group on the curcumin dog food diet had more red and white blood cells on day 42.

How Did Curcumin Affect The Dogs’ Health?

The experiment revealed that the dogs who were fed the curcumin dog food had a lower number of lymphocytes. This means that the antioxidant curcumin has an anti-inflammatory effect also reflected in reduced globulin levels. These dogs also had increased serum levels of cholesterol, urea, glucose, and triglycerides, along with increased antioxidant capacity in the dogs’ blood serum. The dogs also experienced a boost in non-protein thiols and several antioxidant enzymes. As a result, there were lower oxidant levels. There was no weight gain or abnormal growth spurts observed.

The conclusion was that curcumin stimulates the antioxidant system and produces an anti-inflammatory effect in dogs.