Special Issue "Animals and Food: New Food Strategies and Discoveries to Preserve the Health of Our Animal Friends"

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2021.

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Leonardo Leonardi
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Via San Costanzo, 4, 06126 Perugia, Italy
Interests: veterinary science; pathological anatomy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The market of dry pet food is constantly expanding, and new formulations are proposed, making it necessary to have a more accurate assessment of the raw materials used in the production processes. Pet food should ensure the right supply of nutrients so that the animal can enjoy a good state of health. In this respect, the different components present in dry pet food play a very important role, since many of these are not naturally produced by the body, and therefore, they must necessarily be taken with the diet.

Prof. Leonardo Leonardi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pet food
  • raw materials
  • fresh meats and meat meals
  • toxicological effects
  • biological amines
  • protein
  • aminoacids
  • lipids

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

Article
An Alternative Approach to Evaluate the Quality of Protein-Based Raw Materials for Dry Pet Food
Animals 2021, 11(2), 458; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11020458 - 09 Feb 2021
Viewed by 829
Abstract
The majority of dry pet food currently on the market is produced using fresh meats (FMs) and especially meat meals (MMs) as the main protein source. The transport and storage conditions of the raw materials, together with thermal and mechanical treatments in the [...] Read more.
The majority of dry pet food currently on the market is produced using fresh meats (FMs) and especially meat meals (MMs) as the main protein source. The transport and storage conditions of the raw materials, together with thermal and mechanical treatments in the case of MMs, may result in undesirable alterations of food products and their protein content. This study was conducted to analyze the protein component of three different kinds of raw materials used for dry pet food production, i.e., chicken, pork, and salmon. The quantitative analysis of the protein component was determined using the traditional Kjeldahl method and near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, and an alternative method, i.e., the Bradford assay, while the qualitative analysis was performed through SDS-PAGE, followed by Coomassie Blue staining. The amino acid (AA) profile was also evaluated by quadrupole time-of-flight liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (Q-TOF LC/MS). In addition, the digestibility was tested through in vitro gastric and small intestine digestion simulation. Statistical analysis was performed by the Student’s t-test, and data are reported as mean ± SEM, n = 10 (p < 0.05). The results showed that the MMs are lower in quality compared to FMs, both in terms of protein bioavailability and digestibility, having a lower soluble protein (SP) content (chicken MM = 8.6 g SP/100 g dry sample; pork MM = 6.2 g SP/100 g dry sample; salmon MM = 7.9 g SP/100 g dry sample) compared to FMs (chicken FM = 14.6 g SP/100 g dry sample; pork FM = 15.1 g SP/100 g dry sample; salmon FM = 13.7 g SP/100 g dry sample). FMs appear, therefore, to be higher-quality ingredients for pet food production. Moreover, the Bradford assay proved to be a quick and simple method to better estimate protein bioavailability in the raw materials used for dry pet food production, thanks to its correlation with the in vitro digestibility. Full article
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Article
Fermented Feed Modulates Meat Quality and Promotes the Growth of Longissimus Thoracis of Late-Finishing Pigs
Animals 2020, 10(9), 1682; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10091682 - 17 Sep 2020
Viewed by 639
Abstract
This study investigated the effect of fermented diet on growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality and growth of longissimus thoracis (LT) of finishing pigs. A total of 48 finishing pigs [Duroc × (Landrace × Large White), male, 126 ± 5-d-old] weighing 98.76 ± [...] Read more.
This study investigated the effect of fermented diet on growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality and growth of longissimus thoracis (LT) of finishing pigs. A total of 48 finishing pigs [Duroc × (Landrace × Large White), male, 126 ± 5-d-old] weighing 98.76 ± 1.27 kg were randomly assigned to two treatments (eight pens per treatment and three pigs per pen) for a 28-d feeding trial, including control diet and fermented diet. Fermented diet significantly increased the loin eye area and lean mass percentage, decreased backfat thickness and improved meat quality of LT by decreasing the shear force and drip loss at 48 h post slaughter and improving meat sensory characteristics compared with control diet. A fermented diet also significantly increased the abundance of insulin, insulin receptor (IR), myoblast determination protein (MyoD) and myosin heavy chain-I (MyHC-I) transcripts, and the phosphorylation levels of AKT, mTORC1, 4EBP1 and S6K1 in LT, while decreasing the expression of muscle atrophy F-box (MAFbx) and forkhead Box O1 (Foxo1) mRNA transcripts. Moreover, proteomic analysis revealed that differentially expressed proteins predominantly involved in protein synthesis and muscle development were modulated by fermented diet. Our results indicated that a fermented diet improved meat quality and enhanced LT growth of finishing pigs by increasing insulin/AKT/mTORC1 protein synthesis cascade and activating the Foxo1/MAFbx pathway, along with the regulation of ribosomal protein and proteins involved in muscle contraction and muscle hypertrophy. Full article
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Dear Colleagues,

The market of dry pet food is constantly expanding, and new formulations are proposed, making it necessary to have a more accurate assessment of the raw materials used in the production processes. Pet food should ensure the right supply of nutrients so that the animal can enjoy a good state of health. In this respect, the different components present in dry pet food play a very important role, since many of these are not naturally produced by the body, and therefore, they must necessarily be taken with the diet.

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