Dataset Information

Cornstarch is less allergenic than corn flour in dogs and cats previously sensitized to corn.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Corn appears to be an uncommon food source of allergens in dogs and cats. There is limited information on the nature of the corn allergens in dogs and cats and their presence in the various foodstuffs used in commercial pet foods. The aim of this study was to determine if serum IgE from corn-sensitized dogs and cats recognized proteins in corn flour and cornstarch, which are common sources of carbohydrates in pet foods.

Results

We selected archived sera from allergy-suspected dogs (40) and cats (40) with either undetectable, low, medium or high serum levels of corn-specific IgE. These sera were tested then by ELISA on plates coated with extracts made from corn kernels, corn flour, cornstarch and the starch used in the commercially-available extensively-hydrolyzed pet food Anallergenic (Royal Canin). Immunoblotting was then performed on the same extracts with some of the sera from moderate-to-high corn-sensitized dogs and cats. Using ELISA, it is mostly the dogs and cats with moderate and high corn-specific IgE levels that also had IgE identifying allergens in the flour (dogs: 20/30 sera, 67% - cats: 20/29, 69%). In contrast, none of the tested sera had measurable IgE against proteins isolated from the cornstarch. Immunoblotting confirmed the existence of numerous major corn allergens in the corn kernel extract, fewer in that of the corn flour, while such allergens were not detectable using this technique in the two cornstarch extracts.

Conclusions

In this study, ELISA and immunoblotting results suggest that IgE from corn-sensitized dogs are less likely to recognize allergens in cornstarch than in kernel and flour extracts. As corn is not a common allergen source in dogs and cats, and as its starch seems to be less allergenic than its flour, pet foods containing cornstarch as a carbohydrate source are preferable for dogs and cats suspected of suffering from corn allergy.

SUBMITTER: Olivry T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6020376 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Cornstarch is less allergenic than corn flour in dogs and cats previously sensitized to corn.

Olivry Thierry T Bexley Jennifer J

BMC veterinary research 20180627 1

<h4>Background</h4>Corn appears to be an uncommon food source of allergens in dogs and cats. There is limited information on the nature of the corn allergens in dogs and cats and their presence in the various foodstuffs used in commercial pet foods. The aim of this study was to determine if serum IgE from corn-sensitized dogs and cats recognized proteins in corn flour and cornstarch, which are common sources of carbohydrates in pet foods.<h4>Results</h4>We selected archived sera from allergy-sus ...[more]

PMID: 29945608

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Project description:Previous studies have shown that cat owners seem to care less about their cats than dog owners care about their dogs - both in terms of their emotional state of attachment and in their willingness to pay for services that potentially benefit the animals. One study speculated that this difference is "driven by the behavior of the pet" - that the behavior of dogs encourages care more than the behavior of cats - and therefore is a universal phenomenon. However, previous studies mostly relied on convenience sampling of owners and were undertaken in single countries. Based on responses to a questionnaire from cat and dog owners drawn from representative samples of citizens (18 to 89 years of age) in three different European countries, Denmark, Austria and the United Kingdom, we tested the degree to which owners care about their cats and dogs. We used four different measures: Lexington attachment to pets scale (LAPS), possession of pet health insurance, willingness to pay for life-saving treatment, and expectation of veterinary diagnostic and treatment options. Dog owners had higher LAPS scores in all countries. However, the difference between dog and cat owners was greater in Denmark than in Austria and the United Kingdom. More dogs than cats were insured in all three countries, but the ratio was much less skewed in favor of dogs in the United Kingdom compared to Denmark. In terms of expensive life-saving treatment, in every country, more dog owners than cat owners were willing to spend over a certain amount, but the differences were much more pronounced in Denmark compared to the United Kingdom. In Denmark and Austria, dog owners expected more veterinary treatment options to be available, but species made no difference to the expectations of UK owners. People care more about their dogs than their cats in all countries, but with a clear cross-country variation and a very modest difference in the United Kingdom. Therefore, it does not seem to be a universal phenomenon that people care much less about their cats than their dogs. This finding has practical implications for future efforts to expand the level of veterinary services provided for cat owners.

Dataset Information

Cornstarch is less allergenic than corn flour in dogs and cats previously sensitized to corn.

Background

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Cornstarch is less allergenic than corn flour in dogs and cats previously sensitized to corn.

Similar Datasets

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