The effect of bamboo powder as food additive on fecal odor of dogs

Abstract

To recycle the cut-down bamboo, it has been focused on as a deodorant material. The macroporous polypore surface of scrapped Moso Bamboo is expected to have a deodorant effect. In this study, eligibility of the bamboo powder as a deodorizer of dog feces was evaluated. Two types of bamboo powders were prepared. One was crashed into 300 µm diameter and anaerobiotic cultured for fermentation to form a hotbed of lactobacillus, named Wet Bamboo Powder (WBP). The other one was crashed and dried by heat and air aspiration without the fermentation process to annihilate lactobacillus, named Dry Bamboo Powder (DBP). Each powder was mixed with the commercial normal dog food at a rate of 3％and fed to six clinically healthy dogs. The odors of their feces were analyzed using the Kitagawa gas detector and the human sensory evaluation by 10 panelists. The gas detector revealed that the mercaptan concentrations in the feces were reduced by feeding with WBP or DBP for 7 days. Ammonia and hydrogen sulfide levels were not altered between powders or during the period. In the human sensory test, the smell intensity and odor unpleasantness were decreased by WBP or DBP addition for 7 days with pretreatment. There were no significant changes between WBP and DBP in any results of this study. Our findings suggest that bamboo powder food additives provide a clear deodorization effect on dog feces, and it could not be related to viable lactobacillus on the bamboo surface.