Keywords:
M. Longshaw;B. Quest;W. Miller;P. M. Oba;O. R. Swanson;K. S. Swanson;K. Miller
In: Animals, vol. 15, no. 13, pp. 1975, 2025, ISSN: 2076-2615.
Pet nutrition Animal health Clinical nutrition Market entry Peer review
@article{longshaw_safety_2025,
title = {The Safety of FeedKind Pet® (Methylococcus capsulatus, Bath) as a Cultured Protein Source in the Diet of Adult Dogs and Its Effect on Feed Digestibility, Fecal Microbiome, and Health Status},
author = {Matt Longshaw and Bradley Quest and Walt Miller and Patricia M. Oba and Olivia R. Swanson and Kelly S. Swanson and Kathryn Miller},
url = {https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12249425/},
doi = {10.3390/ani15131975},
issn = {2076-2615},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-01-01},
urldate = {2025-07-24},
journal = {Animals},
volume = {15},
number = {13},
pages = {1975},
abstract = {Thirty-two beagles were fed diets containing up to 8% cultured protein for six months, then fed control diets for a further two months. The safety of the protein was assessed by measuring blood and urine parameters as well as the growth of the dogs. Additionally, the intestinal microbiome was shown to be positively influenced by the cultured protein. The diets were well tolerated by the dogs with no reduction in feed intake and were readily digested, providing all of the essential nutrients required. The study showed that FeedKind Pet® is safe as a protein source for dogs and can be included at up to 8% of the total diet with no harmful side effects., Thirty-two healthy adult dogs (16 males and 16 females) were fed control kibble diets for one month, followed by six months (Weeks 0 to 25) of diets containing either 0, 4, 6, or 8% cultured protein derived from Methylococcus capsulatus (FeedKind Pet®, FK), then they were fed control diets (0% FK) for a further two months (Weeks 25 to 34). The diets were isonitrogenous, isolipidic, and isocaloric and stage- and age-specific. The dogs were assessed for overall health, weight gain, and body condition score (BCS). Blood samples were collected 1 week prior to randomization, during acclimation, then in Weeks 5, 13, 25, 30, 32, and 34 for hematology, coagulation, and clinical chemistry; urine was collected according to the same time schedule for urinalysis. Feces were assessed for parasite load and presence of occult blood during Weeks 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, and 25. Fecal samples were collected during acclimation and Weeks 25 and 34 for fecal microbiome analysis and in Week 25 for apparent total gastrointestinal tract digestibility (ATTD). All dogs maintained a healthy weight and BCS throughout the study. Hematology parameters were within normal limits at the end of each phase of the study. With the exception of a decrease in serum phosphorus level and in urine pH in all groups at the end of the study, urine and serum chemistry results were within normal limits at the end of each phase. ATTD values for organic matter, protein, and energy exceeded 80%, whilst digestibility values for copper were around 20%. The fecal microbiome was dominated by Firmicutes. Alpha diversity increased during the safety phase before returning to baseline levels during the washout phase. The dominant genera in all groups were Megamonas, Peptoclostridium, Turicibacter, Catenibacterium, Fusobacterium, Romboutsia, and Blautia. The study has shown that the inclusion of cultured protein at up to 8% of the total diet of adult dogs can provide sufficient nutrition and is safe with no long-term effects on a range of health parameters.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Thirty-two beagles were fed diets containing up to 8% cultured protein for six months, then fed control diets for a further two months. The safety of the protein was assessed by measuring blood and urine parameters as well as the growth of the dogs. Additionally, the intestinal microbiome was shown to be positively influenced by the cultured protein. The diets were well tolerated by the dogs with no reduction in feed intake and were readily digested, providing all of the essential nutrients required. The study showed that FeedKind Pet® is safe as a protein source for dogs and can be included at up to 8% of the total diet with no harmful side effects., Thirty-two healthy adult dogs (16 males and 16 females) were fed control kibble diets for one month, followed by six months (Weeks 0 to 25) of diets containing either 0, 4, 6, or 8% cultured protein derived from Methylococcus capsulatus (FeedKind Pet®, FK), then they were fed control diets (0% FK) for a further two months (Weeks 25 to 34). The diets were isonitrogenous, isolipidic, and isocaloric and stage- and age-specific. The dogs were assessed for overall health, weight gain, and body condition score (BCS). Blood samples were collected 1 week prior to randomization, during acclimation, then in Weeks 5, 13, 25, 30, 32, and 34 for hematology, coagulation, and clinical chemistry; urine was collected according to the same time schedule for urinalysis. Feces were assessed for parasite load and presence of occult blood during Weeks 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, and 25. Fecal samples were collected during acclimation and Weeks 25 and 34 for fecal microbiome analysis and in Week 25 for apparent total gastrointestinal tract digestibility (ATTD). All dogs maintained a healthy weight and BCS throughout the study. Hematology parameters were within normal limits at the end of each phase of the study. With the exception of a decrease in serum phosphorus level and in urine pH in all groups at the end of the study, urine and serum chemistry results were within normal limits at the end of each phase. ATTD values for organic matter, protein, and energy exceeded 80%, whilst digestibility values for copper were around 20%. The fecal microbiome was dominated by Firmicutes. Alpha diversity increased during the safety phase before returning to baseline levels during the washout phase. The dominant genera in all groups were Megamonas, Peptoclostridium, Turicibacter, Catenibacterium, Fusobacterium, Romboutsia, and Blautia. The study has shown that the inclusion of cultured protein at up to 8% of the total diet of adult dogs can provide sufficient nutrition and is safe with no long-term effects on a range of health parameters.
M. Longshaw;J. Wang;H. Yu;H. Liang;X. Ge;M. Ren;L. Zhang
In: Animal Feed Science and Technology, vol. 288, pp. 115293, 2022, ISSN: 0377-8401.
Fish nutrition Animal health Clinical nutrition Peer review
@article{yu_methanotroph_2022,
title = {Methanotroph (Methylococcus capsulatus, Bath) bacteria meal (FeedKind®) could effectively improve the growth, apparent digestibility coefficient, blood biochemical parameters, antioxidant indices of juvenile Jian carp (Cyprinus carpio var. Jian)},
author = {Heng Yu and Hualiang Liang and Matt Longshaw and Jia Wang and Xianping Ge and Mingchun Ren and Lu Zhang},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377840122000918},
doi = {10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2022.115293},
issn = {0377-8401},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-04-01},
urldate = {2022-04-21},
journal = {Animal Feed Science and Technology},
volume = {288},
pages = {115293},
abstract = {A 10-week growth study was conducted to evaluate the effects of replacement of soybean meal (SBM) with different levels of Methylococcus capsulatus (0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 10%) meal on the growth, digestibility, intestinal development and serum biochemical indices of juvenile Jian carp. The present results showed that compared to the control group (0% M. capsulatus meal), 6%, 8%, and 10% M. capsulatus meal significantly improved the final average weight (FW), weight gain rate (WGR), specific growth rate (SGR), and decreased feed conversion rate (FCR). No significant difference was found in the survival rate (SR) in the treatment groups, and SR of each group was more than 95%. Jian carp had relatively high apparent digestibility of diets containing M. capsulatus meal, the apparent digestibility coefficient of Jian carp for dry matter, crude protein, crude lipid, energy and amino acid of M. capsulatus meal was 70.85%, 90.68%, 67.68%, 80.82%, and 88.00-91.17%, respectively. The addition of M. capsulatus meal had no adverse effect in the intestinal tissue of Jian carp juveniles, and 8% M. capsulatus meal significantly increased the villus width compared with the control group. Improved serum biochemical indices and increased antioxidant capacity of fish was noted in fish fed diets containing M. capsulatus meal. Replacement of M. capsulatus meal at the 6% level significantly decreased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity compared to the control group. The blood glucose (GLU) of all treatment groups had a decreasing trend, and the 8% and 10% M. capsulatus meal diets had significant effects on GLU content. Compared to the control group, 6%, 8%, and 10% M. capsulatus meal significantly decreased blood urea nitrogen (BUN) content. Compared to the control group, 6% and 8% M. capsulatus meal diets significantly increased serum total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) of Jian carp, and 8% M. capsulatus meal diet significantly decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) activity. The study has demonstrated that the replacement of SBM with Methylococcus capsulatus shows promise as an alternative protein source in the aquaculture industry.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
A 10-week growth study was conducted to evaluate the effects of replacement of soybean meal (SBM) with different levels of Methylococcus capsulatus (0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 10%) meal on the growth, digestibility, intestinal development and serum biochemical indices of juvenile Jian carp. The present results showed that compared to the control group (0% M. capsulatus meal), 6%, 8%, and 10% M. capsulatus meal significantly improved the final average weight (FW), weight gain rate (WGR), specific growth rate (SGR), and decreased feed conversion rate (FCR). No significant difference was found in the survival rate (SR) in the treatment groups, and SR of each group was more than 95%. Jian carp had relatively high apparent digestibility of diets containing M. capsulatus meal, the apparent digestibility coefficient of Jian carp for dry matter, crude protein, crude lipid, energy and amino acid of M. capsulatus meal was 70.85%, 90.68%, 67.68%, 80.82%, and 88.00-91.17%, respectively. The addition of M. capsulatus meal had no adverse effect in the intestinal tissue of Jian carp juveniles, and 8% M. capsulatus meal significantly increased the villus width compared with the control group. Improved serum biochemical indices and increased antioxidant capacity of fish was noted in fish fed diets containing M. capsulatus meal. Replacement of M. capsulatus meal at the 6% level significantly decreased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity compared to the control group. The blood glucose (GLU) of all treatment groups had a decreasing trend, and the 8% and 10% M. capsulatus meal diets had significant effects on GLU content. Compared to the control group, 6%, 8%, and 10% M. capsulatus meal significantly decreased blood urea nitrogen (BUN) content. Compared to the control group, 6% and 8% M. capsulatus meal diets significantly increased serum total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) of Jian carp, and 8% M. capsulatus meal diet significantly decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) activity. The study has demonstrated that the replacement of SBM with Methylococcus capsulatus shows promise as an alternative protein source in the aquaculture industry.
