Mary Ememe

By Mary Ememe and Chukwuma Ememe

This chapter reviews super foods and functional foods for companion animals such as dogs, cats, and horses. Super foods are considered to be beneficial for health and well-being, whereas functional foods are fortified or enhanced foods that may provide a health benefit beyond the traditional nutrient they contain. Super foods for dogs and cats include blueberries, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cocoa, tomatoes, spinach, banana, strawberry, apples, carrots, coconut oil, quinoa, kale, and raw honey. Examples of functional foods for dogs and cats include omega-3–enriched egg, fatty fish, soybean oil, nuts, yogurt, and oatmeal. These food products help pets fight disease, maintain healthy skin and shiny coat, improve healthy digestion, maintain joints and strong bones, boost immune system, promote longevity, boost energy, and maintain good health in general. Many nutrients including essential fatty acids, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin E, and B-complex vitamins are now incorporated in pet foods for normal functioning of the skin and coat condition. Super foods for horses, such as pollen bee, Echinacea, and spirulina, are natural foods that have high-quality vitamins, minerals, cofactors, and enzymes. They support optimal digestive health and boost the immune system in horses. This chapter highlights the benefits derived by consuming super foods and functional foods and some specific claims supported by scientific research of these foods in companion animals.

Part of the book: Superfood and Functional Food

By Mary U. Ememe, Anthony K.B. Sackey and Joseph O. Ayo

This chapter evaluated resveratrol supplementation on laboratory animals, cats, pigs, horses, dogs, cattle and birds. Resveratrol (3, 5, 4′-trihydroxystilbene) is a stilbenoid, a derivate of stilbene. It is found in some plants such as red grape, grape products, cocoa, peanuts, raspberries, mulberries, strawberry and Japanese knotweed roots. The most important dietary source of resveratrol is red wine, and it is often assumed to be an important factor in the French Paradox, a term used to describe the observation that the French population has a very low incidence of cardiovascular disease, despite a diet high in saturated fats. Research has shown some therapeutic effects of resveratrol ranging from antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, antiatherogenic, antiaging, antiplatelet aggregation, anticancer, antidiabetic, antitumor, and immunomodulatory activities. In laboratory animals, benefits of resveratrol comprise antitumor effects while in cats it has shown to improve hepatic function. In pigs, the antibiotic and antiviral effects of resveratrol have been illustrated. The anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties of resveratrol in horses and cattle were also reviewed. The supplement was shown to be useful as an antibiotic and an aid in improving alertness in dogs. Resveratrol also showed to increase growth performance in birds. It is therefore concluded that use of resveratrol is a potent aid in improving animal production and health.

Part of the book: Resveratrol