Addressing the rising consumer interest in immune health

Since the SARS CoV-2 virus raised awareness of infectious diseases, consumers’ desire to improve their own immunity has grown. Furthermore, owners often anthropomorphize their views onto their pets. As a result, the demand for pet products claiming immune benefits continues to rise too.

The immune system

The immune system consists of the innate (quick response) and the adaptive (learned response) systems. About 70% of the body’s immune tissue surrounds the gut, serving as a ‘first line of defense’ against allergens to the body. Immune cells in the body produce cytokines that create an inflammation response to address infectious threats (allergens). However, while the intent of the cytokine response is meant to quickly contain a threat, sometimes the inflammation response overreacts, causing the body more harm than good.

Beneficial effects

The good news is that certain dietary ingredients can help modulate the immune response to assure the body is able to effectively respond to various allergen threats. For example, the antioxidants vitamin E and beta-carotene have been shown to have beneficial effects on both innate and adaptive immune systems.

Omega-3 fatty acids have also been shown to modify the inflammatory response by promoting the production of anti-inflammatory rather than pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Meanwhile, Alpha lipoic acid (ALA) is naturally found in diverse foods including red meats, spinach, yeast extract and broccoli. ALA serves as a potent antioxidant and has been shown in dogs to reduce eye lens opacity in diabetics, reduce cognitive dysfunction, improve learning in aged dogs, and reduce osteoarthritis biomarkers.

Enhancing immune health in pets

Various gut microbiome modifying tools – prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics – have shown beneficial immunity-enhancing properties. While a tremendous body of literature shows evidence for probiotics enhancing immune health, their use is limited in pet foods due to poor stability in the common types of pet food product forms. In contrast, prebiotics have greater stability in the common food forms; they influence the immune system via shifting gut populations of microbiota as well as serving as precursors of shortchain fatty acids. More recently, attention has focused on the immune health benefits of postbiotics.

Like prebiotics, postbiotics are generally more stable in common food forms. Given that postbiotics are typically effective at lower inclusion levels than prebiotics, their mechanisms must differ.

Mineral status

In human nutritional immunology literature, the role of zinc in the immune system and its associated anti-cancer benefits are well known. This suggests that it may be appropriate to take a deeper look at the mineral status of pets. Many owners dilute their pets’ calories with treats and other non-balanced calorie sources. Thus, the zinc status of pets may be compromised. At the very least, it is important to ensure that the pet consumes a complete diet with highly available forms of zinc.

Meanwhile, although the inclusion of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is quite common in pet foods, the amount of data supporting its effects on pet health is scant. Nevertheless, the low cost, low safety risk, and high consumer awareness have made ascorbic acid a common addition in pet foods.

More innovations

Given the complexity of the immune system, more innovations will undoubtedly arise to help improve pet immune status. In the meantime, manufacturers should review their brand’s products to ensure they are designed to address consumers’ rising interest in immune health.