Digestive performance of dogs fed a jojoba meal supplemented diet

Jojoba meal, the simmondsin containing by-product of oil expelling from jojoba seeds (Simmondsia chinensis) reduces food intake in rats. In the search for diet meals for dogs, we tested the digestive effects of supplementation of jojoba meal to the diet of Beagle dogs at two different concentrations. Supplementation at a low dose (2.7%) did not reduce the body weight to lower values than control animals, and did not influence the digestibility of the food. At higher concentrations (8.1%) jojoba meal reduced body weight, which was not only due to a lower food intake, but also to a less than optimal digestibility of the jojoba supplemented food. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.