Royal Canin Nutritional Information

Royal Canin Nutritional Information

It is important to serve several smaller meals over the day while respecting the daily ration in order to limit the postprandial hepatic load. (©Umes).

Key Points to Remember:

Nutrition in the Treatment and Prevention of Liver Diseases

The four objectives of nutritional support for liver diseases in dogs are:

• Treating the malnutrition by responding to the energy requirements in terms of essential nutrients
• Favoring the regeneration of hepatocytes by ensuring the limited intake of nutrients, particularly proteins
• Limiting hepatic lesions by preventing the accumulation of copper and capturing free radicals
• Preventing or minimizing complications, such as hepatic encephalopathy, portal hypertension and ascites

Anorexia is a frequent consequence of hepatopathies.

Tube feeding can be utilized to ensure an appropriate intake of energy and nutrients.

Highly digestible vegetable or dairy proteins are better tolerated than animal proteins in animals suffering from hepatic encephalopathy.

Nutritional support must be adapted to the case, based on the type of hepatopathy, the degree of hepatic dysfunction, the tolerance to dietary proteins and the animal’s nutritional condition.

The length of the nutritional treatment is dependent on the cause of the disease and the regeneration capacity of the liver tissue. A lifelong prescription may prove necessary in case of a chronic disease.

Focus on: Copper

Although it is present in the organism in very low quantities (< 10 mg /kg of body weight), copper plays the role of coenzyme in a great many metabolic reactions.

• Copper is one of the anti-anemic factors that also include folates, vitamin B12 and iron. Copper facilitates the incorporation of iron in hemoglobin.
• Copper helps the synthesis of collagen and myelin.
• Copper also plays a role in the synthesis of melanin, due to its tyrosinase coenzyme function.
• As a cofactor of superoxide dismutase (SOD), copper is an integrative part of the oxidative stress defense mechanisms.

Copper is absorbed and stored by bonding with liver proteins: most of the organism’s copper is stored in the liver. This storage capacity is limited and excess copper is eliminated by the bile. Copper may be toxic when accumulation is excessive, as in some predisposed breeds.

The intestinal absorption of copper, zinc and iron is interdependent. An excessive iron or zinc level may reduce the availability of copper. In the enterocytes zinc induces the synthesis of metallothioneine, a metalloprotein that forms a strong bond with copper in the epithelial cells of the intestine and prevents its absorption. Food high in zinc (> 40 mg /1000 kcal) is therefore recommended for dogs with liver failure.

Figure 9. Examples of major functions in which copper plays a role. With pathological accumulation, copper levels in the liver will reach concentrations of several thousand mg/g of dry liver tissue, or ten times that of a healthy liver.