POC Petfood – Exploring the Link Between Diet and Oral Microbiome in Dogs
Project Objectives
The POC Petfood project, led by the Animal Health and Production Expertise Team at INNOZH, aims to better understand the relationship between canine nutrition and the oral microbiome, with a focus on animal health and well-being. The project has three main goals:
- Generate scientific knowledge on how diet influences oral health in dogs through microbiome analysis.
- Validate a non-invasive sampling method (oral swab) to detect microbial markers associated with improved oral health.
- Develop simple, reliable tools to assess canine health and well-being, applicable in functional studies for companies in the Petcare sector.
Study Design
An experimental protocol has been designed to reflect real-life conditions:
- Five dogs will be included in the study and kept at home with their owners to maintain their usual lifestyle.
- Each dog will be fed three successive diets, varying in nutritional quality and texture.
- The goal is to observe potential changes in the oral microbiome based on diet: bacterial types, positive or negative effects on oral health, and overall impact on well-being.
- Veterinary follow-up visits will be conducted, and oral swab samples will be collected to characterize the microbiome and identify relevant markers.
Expected Outcomes
At the end of the trial, a validated protocol and a study report will be produced. These results will enable INNOZH to offer new functional evaluation tools to Petfood and Petcare companies, supporting innovation in animal health and nutrition.
