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The effect of milled sorghum fractions on diet utilization by dogs
Sorghum is an abundant starch source that has many potential health benefits. Some pet food companies have adopted whole sorghum in their formulations, however sorghum flour and (or) its seed coat which is rich in polyphenolics might provide added benefit to companion animal diets. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate diets utilizing sorghum flour (SFD), and sorghum mill feed (SMF) relative to whole sorghum (WSD), and conventional grains (rice, corn and wheat; CON) in a typical dog diet. Adult (1-3 yr) Beagle dogs (n=12; 10.6 kg ± 1.4) were randomly assigned to individual pens with ad libitum access to water. Dogs were fed twice daily and adapted to diet (9 d) then feces and urine were collected for 5 d over 4 periods in a replicated Latin square design. Fecal excretion was estimated using Cr2O3as an external marker and apparent total tract digestibility was computed. Number of defecations and feces were scored on a subjective 5 point scale (1 runny to 5 hard and dry). Results were analyzed with statistical software using GLM procedure of SAS (v 9.4). Dry matter digestibility (DMD) was greater (P<.05) for SFD than CON and WSD, which were greater (P<0.05) than SMF (86.0, 83.0, 81.1, and 65.9%, respectively). The organic matter (OMD), energy (DED), and protein (PRD) digestibility followed a similar relationship among treatments (OMD 90.7, 88.1, 86.4, and 70.06%; DED 90.3, 87.2, 85.4, and 70.2%; PRD 81.8, 77.5, 77.2 and 67.2%, respectively). In contrast, fecal scores were highest (P<0.05; 3.91) for SMF, intermediate for the WSD and SFD (3.74 and 3.77) and lowest (P<0.05) for CON (3.58). As well the number of defecations per day was higher (P<.05) for SMF than all the other treatments (3.03 vs average 2.21). While SMF may contain some beneficial phenolic compounds it decreased nutrient digestibility and yielded firmer stools relative to the other treatments. Mostly due to the higher fiber content of this milled sorghum component. In contrast, removing the fibrous cortical layer resulted in higher digestibility for SFD and may provide beneficial functional properties to modern pet food kibble.
Keywords: sorghum, pet food, digestibility, flour, mill feed