RESUMO
This study aimed to produce dog food containing natural antioxidants (blend of essential oils and vitamin E) to replace synthetic antioxidants and determine the effects on food conservation and animal health sequentially. The foods were produced in a commercial factory, and the antioxidants were added at the oil bath stage. Ten adult beagle dogs were used, divided into two treatments; control treatment (CON; synthetic antioxidant feed [butylhydroxytoluene]) and test treatment (NAT; natural antioxidant feed; blend of essential oils from clove, rosemary, oregano, and vitamin E). The dogs were weighed at the beginning and end of each experimental period, and there were no treatment effects for body weight. In both treatments, food conservation efficiency was observed, demonstrating the feasibility of using natural sources as antioxidants in dog food because chemical and oxidative variables did not differ regardless of the antioxidant used during production. The animals' metabolic and haematological variables were not influenced by the treatments; however, a reduction in the number of lymphocytes was observed over time only in the dogs of the NAT group. There was also a day effect for total leukocyte, neutrophil and erythrocyte counts only in NAT animals, which means a significant increase (p ≤ 0.05) in the variables on d 28. There was an effect of the treatment and an interaction treatment x day for the total bacterial count, whereas a decrease in the bacterial count (p < 0.05) was observed in NAT dogs' faeces on day 28. Dogs fed the NAT diet had lower reactive oxygen species (ROS) (p ≤ 0.05) to minimise oxidative stress. In group NAT, the NPSH and glutathione S-transferase levels were increased, which may explain the decrease in ROS levels. It was concluded that natural antioxidants in dog feed, in addition to promoting feed conservation, stimulate levels of systemic antioxidants and minimise the impacts caused by free radicals in the dogs' blood.
