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79 ACVN NutritioN Notes Peer reviewed May/June 2014 today's Veterinary Practice tvpjournal.com v eterinarians frequently encounter the use of dietary supplements in clinical practice. The exact preva- lence of supplementation by pet owners is unclear, but economic indicators suggest the practice is widespread. Estimated annual expenditures by American owners reached over $1 billion in 2010, with 31% of dog owners and 22% of cat owners reporting use of such prod- ucts. 1 A 2006 nutritional survey found that 9.9% of pet owners administered dietary supplements; most prevalent were multivi- tamins, joint supplements, and fatty acids. 2 Limited data are available on particu- lar products, but veterinarians should be aware of: 1. Owners' rationale for supplementation 2. Regulation of dietary supplements 3. Possibility of adverse effects 4. Theoretical or scientific basis of com- mon ingredients encountered in products. OWNER RATIONALE While no definitive studies on the psy- chology of pet supplement use exist, clinical experience suggests that dietary additive use is based on several reasons: 1. Perceived deficiencies in commercial pet foods and/or distrust regarding food formulation 2. Preference for treatments marketed as "naturally" derived and safe, with few side effects 3. Belief that integration of dietary sup- plements and pharmaceutical drugs is more efficacious than the latter alone, and that these supplements may prevent drug side effects 4. Perceived reduction in disease morbid- ity or mortality, such as chondropro- tectants to prevent/treat joint disease and dietary supplements to increase survival times in oncologic patients. 3 ADVERSE EFFECTS The safety profiles of most supple- ments are only anecdotally established. Adverse events from minerals and vita- mins are well described and occasion- ally seen with high doses, while adverse events from herbal medications and extracted compounds generally occur due to one of the following: 1. Idiosyncratic or unpredictable inter- actions; for example, interactions have been reported between nutra- ceuticals, herbs, and drugs 4 2. Off-label use, dose, or combination of these dietary additives 5-8 3. Inappropriate processing or misiden- tification of products 9 4. Contamination—intentional or inad- vertent—and variability in ingredi- ents and their concentration 10-13 COMMON SUPPLEMENTS Vitamins & Minerals The recommended allowance of nutrients in most commercial pet foods is guided by current Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) standards and the National Research Council's (NRC) assessment of the scientific literature. 14 Table 1, page 80, lists common vitamin and mineral supplements. Commercial Foods. Commercial pet foods are replete with vitamins and min- erals. Only in rare circumstances—gen- erally due to underlying pathology—do pets fed commercial A AFCO-labeled foods require additional minerals and vitamins. Oversupplementation may be deleterious; administration of excessive dietary calcium during growth of large breed dogs may predispose to develop- ment of orthopedic disease. 14 Home-Prepared Foods. Many home- prepared diets require vitamin and mineral supplementation. In general, human multivitamins are recommended because they are designed to comple- ment the foods used in these diets. Multivitamins designed for pets are gen- erally formulated to supplement com- mercial pet foods and to prevent toxicity by providing lower amounts of nutrients. Fatty Acids Fatty acids have received extensive atten- tion in the human and veterinary litera- ture. Most mammals synthesize saturated fats, but lack the ability to produce the omega-3 and omega-6 series of polyun- saturated fatty acids. Therefore, dietary sources of these essential fatty acids are required. A summary of relevant polyun- saturated fatty acids is provided in Table 2, page 80. Feline Requirements. Delta-6 desatu- rase is an enzyme that adds an additional double bond to linoleic and alpha linole- nic acids, starting a conversion process to longer, more unsaturated products. Cats, however, possess very low levels of this enzyme, which creates their condi- tional requirement for arachidonic acid in growth, lactation, and gestation. Dosage. Doses of fish oil used to Surveying SuPPlementS Current Trends, Research, & Recommendations Justin Shmalberg, DVM, Diplomate ACVN University of Florida The American College of Veterinary Nutrition (www.acvn.org) designates specialists in veterinary nutrition, provides continuing education, supports veterinary nutrition residency programs, and offers a wide array of resources related to veterinary nutrition. By bringing this column to TVP readers, the ACVN is reaching out to veterinary professionals to provide the highest- quality, cutting-edge information on companion animal nutrition, contributed by their foremost nutrition specialists. 2014-0506_NutritionNotes_Nutraceuticals_RECONFIGURED_FOR ADS.indd 79 5/24/2014 8:17:11 PM