Pine trees contain natural compounds that may support dog health due to their anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. ArgaT is a commercial product made from pine tree extracts that may benefit dogs, but its effects have not been investigated in this species. This study examined whether adding ArgaT to dog food affected overall and gut health in healthy adult dogs. Twenty-four healthy dogs were fed one of three diets for 28 d: a control diet or two diets containing ArgaT at 0.05% and 0.15%. Dogs remained healthy throughout the study based on blood test results. Dogs fed the higher level of ArgaT needed about 12% more calories to maintain body weight, suggesting a possible metabolic effect. Adding ArgaT to diets did not affect stool quality, local immunity, protein and carbohydrate fermentation products (ammonia, volatile fatty acids), or the overall gut bacterial population. However, some specific groups of bacteria and compounds found in fecal samples changed in response to diets containing ArgaT, suggesting that the diets influenced the gut environment. Overall, short-term feeding of diets containing ArgaT was considered safe and resulted in small changes in gut bacteria and fecal metabolites, supporting its potential use as an ingredient in dog diets.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.