GB2385768A

GB2385768A - Animal feed supplement

Info

Publication number: GB2385768A
Application number: GB0220454A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John A Lowe; Christopher Gordon; William Park Tonks
Original assignee: Dodson & Horrell Ltd; PARK TONKS Ltd
Current assignee: Dodson & Horrell Ltd; PARK TONKS Ltd
Priority date: 2002-01-31
Filing date: 2002-09-03
Publication date: 2003-09-03
Anticipated expiration: 2022-09-03
Also published as: GB2385768B; GB0202258D0; GB0220454D0

Abstract

An animal food supplement comprises at least one naturally occurring plant-based antioxidant, vitamin C and vitamin E effective to increase the total antioxidant capacity of the animal, plasma vitamin E levels and the resistance of low density lipoprotein oxidation. The antioxidant may be a carotenoid or, preferably, a bioflavanoid obtained from blueberries, bilberries, elderberries or grape skins. The supplement may include a sacrificial antioxidant, e.g. gallic acid, or an amino acid.

Description

ANIMAL FEED SUPPLEMENT This invention relates to an animal food supplement, more particularly (but not exclusively) to a composition for feeding to horses, cats, dogs and rabbits, to increase their total antioxidant capacity (TAC), plasma vitamin E levels and the resistance of low density lipoprotein to oxidation.

Oxidation and oxidative damage from free radicals are believed to be causal agents of many of the chronic diseases associated with an animal's ageing, and indeed with ageing itself. Most free radicals are generated as part of the body's normal metabolic processes but certain conditions, both from within and without the animal, increase their occurrence. The animal has a complex and elaborate system of antioxidant defence to deal with such onslaughts. However, there is increasing evidence to indicate benefits from additional dietary antioxidants to support the body's own systems for long-term health and well being. Thus, it is known to feed animals with, for example, antioxidant vitamins such as vitamin E, vitamin C and carotenoids with a view to increasing the TAC, plasma vitamin E levels and the resistance of low density lipoprotein oxidation of the animals. Furthermore, an increase in animals'own ability to resist oxidant/free radical damage has been associated with a reduction in the chronic and inflammatory diseases, such as cancer, arthritis and other joint ailments, fatigue from acute and chronic exercise and even a reduction in the outward signs of ageing itself.

Our work in this area has also shown that the lifestyle and feeding of the modem horse in particular indicates that it has a lower than desirable TAC to begin with and that many of the disease problems found in the pet and performance horse could be attributed to low antioxidant status. Further, it appears that feeding the animal a single antioxidant vitamin such as vitamin E (the common and primary antioxidant) is insufficient to overcome this shortfall in TAC.

We have now devised an animal feed supplement, especially but not exclusively useful for cats, dogs, rabbits and horses, which results in an increase in TAC plasma vitamin E levels and the resistance of low density lipoprotein oxidation, in the animals.

In particular, we have found that a combination of naturally occurring plant based antioxidant components, vitamin C and vitamin E, is particularly effective in elevating TAC, plasma vitamin E levels and the resistance of low density lipoprotein oxidation, when administered over a suitable period of time (normally at least 8 weeks).

In one aspect, the invention provides an animal food supplement comprising at least one naturally occurring plant-based antioxidant, vitamin C and vitamin E effective to increase the total antioxidant capacity of the animal, plasma vitamin E levels and the resistance of low density lipoprotein oxidation.

Among the preferred naturally occurring plant based antioxidant components which may be used are the carotenoids and bioflavanoids.

The bioflavanoids are generally preferred over the carotenoids, and examples include the flavanols such as quercetin (and derivatives), kaempferol, myricetin and galangin; flavanonols such as taxifolin and dihydrokaempferol; flavones such as luteolin (and derivatives), apigenin and chrysin; flavonones such as eriodictyol, hesperetin and naringenin (and derivatives); catechins and catechin gallates such as catechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate and epigallocatechin gallate; anthocyanidins such as cyanidin (and derivatives) and perlargonidin; and isoflavones such as genistein (and derivatives), biochanin, diadzein and formononetin.

Preferred carotenoids include ss-carotene, lycopene and luteine, for example.

The plant-based antioxidant components can be provided as parts of the plant (or fruit) per se, or as extracts therefrom. Normally, extracts are preferred. The extracts can contain other substances from the plants provided that they are not harmful in an animal feed. As will be clear to those skilled in the art, the preferred plants are those containing high quantities of the desired antioxidants. Some plants are generally not very suitable for use in the present invention, one example being cereals. Among the preferred suitable plants are the anthocyanin-containing Blueberry, Elderberry, grape skins and Bilberry plants, the extracts of which are particularly useful.

There are many other useful antioxidants or antioxidant-containing materials such as, for example, rutin, rosemaric acid, gallic acid, curcumin, tannin, bee pollen, parsley, oregano, thyme oil, tea polyphenols, etc.

We have referred herein to the use of naturally occurring plant based antioxidants.

We prefer to use plants or extracts (of the plants or of their fruits), especially since the other plant components present will normally be beneficial. However, synthetic equivalents can be used.

We prefer to use natural vitamin E. It will be understood that both vitamin E and vitamin C will be used in a form (or protected) to avoid loss of essential function in processing and storage of the food supplements of the invention.

Advantageously, the food supplements of the invention will also include an amino acid component. Preferred such components are N-acetyl cysteine and taurine, but other suitable materials can be used.

Further, the supplements also advantageously contain a sacrificial antioxidant. As will be clear to those skilled in the art, there are many possibilities but we prefer to use gallic acid, taurine or glutathione.

According to one particularly preferred aspect of the invention, there is provided an animal food supplement which comprises at least one naturally occurring plant-based bioflavonoid antioxidant, vitamin C, vitamin E, a sacrificial antioxidant, curcumin and rosemaric acid.

Preferably, the bioflavanoid antioxidant comprises anthocyanins, which are preferably provided by (or at least partly by) one or more of Blueberry extract, Elderberry extract, grape skins or grape skin extract, or Bilberry extract.

In another aspect, the invention provides an animal food supplement which comprises

% by wt.

Rutin 1-5 Natural Vitamin E 2-20 Grape skins or grape skin 5-21 extract Rosemaric acid 10-37. 5 Gallic Acid 10-50 Tannin up to 14% Ascorbic acid 2. 8-15 Vegetable carrier and qs optional ingredients

This supplement (and others according to the invention) may also comprise one or more of

Bee pollen up to 18.5% Oregano up to 25% Parsley up to 26.5% Thyme oil up to 10% N-acetyl cysteine 1.0 to 12% Curcumin 1.7 to 30% Tea polyphenols up to 10%

Preferably, the supplement contains 1% to 20% anthocyanins provided by said grape skin or Blueberry extract and/or Elderberry extract and/or Bilberry extract each present in an amount up to 1.5%.

The supplements of the invention will generally be included in (eg added to) an animal feed to provide to the animal between about Ig and lOg per kilogram of feed.

Alternatively, the supplements can, of course, be administered separately from the main dietary intake, as desired.

In accordance with the present invention, we have found that combinations of naturally occurring plant based antioxidant components and vitamins C and E, show synergism in their antioxidant effectiveness. Thus, whilst each vitamin and each antioxidant component is effective on its own to some degree in increasing the TAC of an animal, the supplements of the invention are much more effective than the simple additive effect of the ingredients. Furthermore, the blend of antioxidants can cover all the phases in the animal (lipid, aqueous, membrane intra and intercellular etc) where antioxidant activity is needed, and they can thus deal with the variety of free radicals produced.

Furthermore, the antioxidants in the blend support each other in a cascade-like fashion with a sacrificial antioxidant (eg gallic acid) at the end of the chain. This is an extremely valuable effect and is believed to contribute substantially to the effectiveness of these supplements. Thus, what happens is that when any antioxidant reacts with a free radical, it in itself becomes oxidized. This first oxidized antioxidant is not very reactive, however, so is not especially dangerous. Because it is oxidized and is itself a free radical, it will react with another second antioxidant, providing the H-donating ability of the second antioxidant is chemically acceptable to the reactivity level of the oxidized first

antioxidant. Thus, each antioxidant's ability to scavenge or donate H atoms relative to another is important.

Reactions such as this also depend upon the pH of the medium, the presence of proteins and whether or not it is a lipophilic or aqueous medium. For example, the chemistry of gallic acid is such that it will act as a sacrificial antioxidant to repair other antioxidants in the system as well of course as acting directly against free radicals in its own right.

Each antioxidant will work in a different medium, for example the water phase, fat phase, in the membrane etc and will quench different radicals. Thus, the mix is much more effective than any one single antioxidant.

For equine nutrition, the supplements of the invention promote long term health, condition and performance in horses and ponies through integrated antioxidant support that strengthens the physiological systems in order to permit the animal's own biochemistry to maximize the benefit. Thus, improved total antioxidant capacity of the horse enables the animal's own system to respond better to the adverse effects of stress, the adverse effects of strenuous or sudden exercise, diseases, the effects of pollution, vaccinations and training, as well as supporting the immune system.

The supplements of the invention comprise a carefully selected mix of feed ingredients in the form of plant and fruit extracts, preferably rich in polyphenolic flavanoids, together with permitted fee additive key antioxidant vitamins (E and C) and amino acids.

These compositions have been evaluated both in-vitro and in-vivo using modem techniques in measuring antioxidant capacity. They have been shown to improve the resistance of low density lipoprotein to oxidation and increase the total antioxidant capacity.

The supplements of the invention function by the direct and indirect supply of antioxidants to the animal. Direct supply is from, for example, natural vitamin E, a primary circulating antioxidant derived from the diet, and indirect supply is, for example, vitamin C which is known to regenerate vitamin E and other antioxidants thereby helping to maintain the all important circulating and active levels of antioxidants in the system.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, the following Example is given by way of illustration only.

Example An animal feed supplement of the following composition was made up and fed to dogs and horses over a period of 8 weeks and 12 weeks, respectively. Using a modified

TEAC method (Miller and Rice Evans, 1996), the TAC's of the dogs and horses were measured and found to have increased. In vitro, the same supplement was shown to have a TEAC value of 9 x that of supplemental vitamin E alone.

Ingredient % in supplement Rutin 2.5 Natural vitamin E 10.0 Rosemaric acid 25.0 Gallic acid 29.0 Curcumin 2.0 Ascorbic acid 4.0 Tannin 4.0 Bee pollen 5.0 N-acetyl cysteine 2.0 Parsley 6.4 Anthocyanin 0. 1 (from Elderberry extract) Oregano 5.0 Thyme oil 1.0 Tea polyphenols 1. 0 (Green tea extracts) Vegetable carrier 4.0 100. 0

Claims

CLAIMS: 1 An animal food supplement comprising at least one naturally occurring plantbased antioxidant, vitamin C and vitamin E effective to increase the total antioxidant capacity of the animal, plasma vitamin E levels and the resistance of low density lipoprotein oxidation.
2 A supplement according to claim 1, wherein the plant-based antioxidant is from a plant or fruit high in bioflavanoids.
3 A supplement according to claim I or 2, wherein said plant-based antioxidant is in the form of a plant or fruit extract.
4 A supplement according to claim 1,2 or 3, which comprises natural vitamin E.
5 A supplement according to any of claims I to 4, which comprises at least two plant-based antioxidants such that the antioxidants function synergistically.
6 A supplement according to claim 5, which also comprises a sacrificial antioxidant.
7 A supplement according to claim 6, wherein the sacrificial antioxidant is gallic acid, taurine or glutathione.
8 A supplement according to any preceding claim, which also comprises an amino acid component.
9 A supplement according to claim 8, wherein the amino acid component is N-acetyl cysteine or taurine.

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10 A supplement according to any preceding claim which also comprises a vegetable carrier medium.
11 An animal food supplement, which comprises at least one naturally occurring plant-based bioflavonoid antioxidant, vitamin C, vitamin E, a sacrificial antioxidant, curcumin and rosemaric acid.
12 A supplement according to claim 11, wherein the bioflavanoid antioxidant comprises anthocyanins.
13 A supplement according to claim 12, wherein the anthocyanins are provided by one or more of grape skins, Blueberry extract, Elderberry extract and Bilberry extract.
14 A supplement according to claim 11, 12 or 13, wherein the sacrificial antioxidant is gallic acid, taurine or glutathione.
15 A supplement according to any of claims 11 to 14, which comprises natural vitamin E.
16 A supplement according to any of claims 11 to 15, which comprises one or both of rutin and rosemaric acid component.
17 A supplement according to any of claims 11 to 16, which also includes at least one amino acid component, preferably N-acetyl cysteine and/or taurine.
18 A supplement according to any of claims 11 to 17, which also comprises a vegetable carrier medium.

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19 An animal food supplement which comprises

% by wt.

Rutin 1-5 Natural Vitamin E 2-20 Grape skins or grape skin 5-21 extract Rosemaric acid 10-37. 5 Gallic Acid 10-50 Tannin Ascorbic acid 2. 8-15 Vegetable carrier and qs optional ingredients
20 A supplement according to claim 19 which also comprises one or more of

Bee pollen up to 18.5% Oregano up to 25% Parsley up to 26.5% Thyme oil up to 10% N-acetyl cysteine 1. 0-12% Curcumin 1.7 to 30% Tea polyphenols up to 10%
21 A supplement according to claim 19 or 20, which contains 1.0 to 20% anthocyanins provided by said grape skins, or Blueberry extract with, optionally, Elderberry extract and/or Bilberry extract each present in an amount up to 1.5%.
22 An animal food supplement substantially as herein described in the Example.
23 The use of an animal food supplement as claimed in any of claims 1 to 22, to increase the TAC, plasma vitamin E levels and the resistance of low density lipoprotein to oxidation, of an animal.
24 A method of increasing the TAC, plasma vitamin E levels and the resistance of low density lipoprotein to oxidation, of an animal which comprises feeding the animal a food supplement as claimed in any of claims I to 22.

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25 The use of the food supplement components as claimed in any of claims 1 to 21, to make an animal food supplement for increasing the TAC, plasma vitamin E levels and the resistance of low density lipoprotein to oxidation, of an animal.