PUFA are important for human and animal health. To our knowledge, previous studies investigating the metabolism of PUFA in dogs have not examined breed differences. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the potential to elongate PUFA in two pure breeds of dogs. Plasma fatty acid composition (%) was measured in dogs during 3 weeks supplementation with flaxseed oil (57 % a-linolenic acid (ALA) and 17 % linolenic acid (LA)) at the rate of 100 ml/kg food following 4 months of feeding an identical standard basal diet. Plasma extracted at fasting state from five beagles and five greyhounds was analysed by GC. Plasma ALA, EPA and LA increased steadily and significantly from days 0 to 22 (P,0·05); however, no significant breed differences were shown. Plasma DHA levels, on the other hand, showed no significant increase over time, but a significant breed difference was observed, with beagles having higher plasma level from day 0 (P¼ 0·002). This breed difference requires further investigation. Levels of ALA and EPA were still rising significantly between days 15 and 22, indicating that PUFA levels in plasma had not stabilised in 3 weeks. These findings together suggest that flaxseed oil could be a useful source of PUFA in dogs, especially ALA and EPA, and that breed differences may be important.

ABSTRACT. Long chain n-3 fatty acids are beneficial to mammals because of their anti-inflammatory role. However, whether flaxseed oil, which is rich in short chain n-3 fatty acids, has such a role, it has not been extensively examined. This study investigated the supplementation of flaxseed oil on the regulation of genes involved in inflammatory responses such as heat shock proteins (HSP90 and HSP70) and interleukin (IL1β) in the white blood cells of dogs. Five beagles and 5 greyhounds were supplemented with Melrose ® flaxseed oil at the rate of 100 mL/kg food for 21 days. The blood was collected at day 0, 15, and 22 following supplementation. The expression of 3 genes was quantified using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Plasma concentrations of fatty acids such as alpha linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, linoleic acid, and arachidonic acid were measured, and their correlations with changes in gene expression were determined. Flaxseed oil supplementation downregulated the Flaxseed oil alters gene expression in dogs expression of HSP90 and IL1β in greyhounds but showed no significant effect on these genes in beagles. HSP70 remained unchanged in both breeds following the supplementation. Correlations of HSP90 and IL1β expression levels with the plasma fatty acid concentrations on day 22 showed a significant negative correlation in greyhounds. Dietary flaxseed oil altered the expression of genes involved in inflammation in white blood cells. Because the expression of the genes may vary in different breeds, it will be useful to consider breed responses to dietary manipulation in canine nutrition management.

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Summary Application of neem products like neem leaf and neem cake to wetland soil did not have any adverse effect on the population of heterotrophic microflora; nitrifying bacteria, on the other hand, decreased significantly due to addition of neem cake and fresh and dried neem leaf with urea. It is suggested that neem leaf could be used as an inhibitor of nitrification for enhancing nitrogen use efficiency of fertilizers where neem leaf is available in plentiful supply.

The use of computed tomography (CT) to evaluate obesity in canines is limited. Traditional CT image analysis is cumbersome and uses prediction equations that require manual calculations. In order to overcome this, our study investigated the use of advanced image analysis software programs to determine body composition in dogs with an application to canine obesity research. Beagles and greyhounds were chosen for their differences in morphology and propensity to obesity. Whole body CT scans with regular intervals were performed on six beagles and six greyhounds that were subjected to a 28-day weight-gain protocol. The CT images obtained at days 0 and 28 were analyzed using software programs OsiriX, ImageJ, and AutoCAT. The CT scanning technique was able to differentiate bone, lean, and fat tissue in dogs and proved sensitive enough to detect increases in both lean and fat during weight gain over a short period. A significant difference in lean : fat ratio was observed between the two breeds on both days 0 and 28 (P < 0.01). Therefore, CT and advanced image analysis proved useful in the current study for the estimation of body composition in dogs and has the potential to be used in canine obesity research.