Animal nutritionists and veterinarians from BSM Partners, the largest pet care research and consulting firm, and the University of Illinois, published the results of a six-month study that found both grain-inclusive and grain-free canine diets had no negative effect on digestibility. The authors wrote, "While some have postulated that pulse-rich diets could perhaps be a cause of nutrition-associated dilated cardiomyopathy in canines due to a potentially negative effect on digestibility, our results showed all diets were highly digestible" by both beagles and mixed-breed hounds.

For the study, researchers formulated four canine diets. Two diets were grain-free, contained pulse ingredients and potatoes, and included either low or high amounts of animal protein. Two diets were grain-inclusive, contained no pulse ingredients or potatoes, and included either low or high amounts of animal protein. The study aimed to evaluate macronutrient digestibility, fecal characteristics, fecal metabolites, and fecal microbiota in Beagles and mixed-breed hounds when fed extruded diets containing different inclusion rates of animal protein and plant-based ingredients.

The research appeared in a peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Animal Science.

In June 2020, researchers from BSM Partners published their peer-reviewed benchmark review article on Dilated Cardiomyopathy in dogs, the review was the first in a series of peer-reviewed works.

The authors found no peer-reviewed evidence of a causal link between grain-free and legume-rich diets and DCM. The full text of the peer-reviewed article appeared in the Journal of Animal Science.

Veterinary Practice News wrote about the publication of the literature review.

Prospective evaluation of echocardiographic parameters and cardiac biomarkers in healthy dogs eating four custom-formulated diets.

Diet-associated dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) has been suspected in breeds that have not been previously noted to have a predisposition to the DCM phenotype. This study hypothesized that over 210 days, dogs fed diets with varying amounts of animal-sourced protein and carbohydrate sources would not be negatively impacted in terms of their cardiac parameters and function.

The full text of the article can be found here.

BSM’s scientists will be examining amino acid levels in the cardiac and skeletal muscle of dogs and how dogs absorb amino acids from different types of diets.

BSM’s scientists will be examining foodomics from the four test diets varying in carbohydrate sources and amount of animal-protein amount.

BSM’s scientists will be examining metabolites and metabolic pathways in multiple samples to understand which, if any metabolites may be up- or down-regulated pending dietary changes. 

BSM’s scientists will be examining anti-nutrient factors throughout the extrusion process to assess how different carbohydrates respond to the manufacturing process of extruded kibbles.